SoftBank Gets CCI Approval To Pick Up 22.44% Stake In Delhivery

Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank has received the final approval from Competition Commission of India (CCI) to pick up a major stake in ecommerce logistics startup Delhivery.

CCI said that it has approved “acquisition of 22.44% of the total share capital of Delhivery Pvt. Ltd. (on a fully diluted basis) by SVF Doorbell (Cayman) Ltd.”

The CCI has also approved the acquisition of preference shares in Delhivery by CA Swift Investments. Mauritius-based CA Swift Investments is the special purpose vehicle of Carlyle Group.

In January, SoftBank had sought approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire a 37.87% stake in Delhivery Pvt Ltd. It was looking to invest $450 Mn in the Delhivery, thereby making SoftBank, the largest shareholder in the company.

According to SoftBank’s filing with the CCI, the proposed stake buy involves two steps:

• Subscription to 22.44% of the total share capital of Delhivery by SoftBank Vision Fund
• On completion of Step 1, a potential subsequent acquisition of shares at a price and on such terms to be agreed up to 37.87% stake in the Indian startup.

Apart from SoftBank and Carlyle Group Delhivery’s investors include China’s Fosun International, New York-based investment firm Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners and Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group.

Delhivery was founded in 2011 by Mohit Tandon, Sahil Barua, Bhavesh Manglani, Kapil Bharati, and Suraj Saharan. It services about 600 cities and 8,500 pin codes in India.

As of December 2018, the company had 12 fulfilment centres for B2C and B2B services and works with ecommerce companies such as Flipkart and Paytm.

In FY18, the company reported a jump of 42% in its revenue gaining total revenue of $153.26 Mn (INR 1,073.64 Cr). Here, its operational revenue contributed almost 95% to its total revenue as against $107.92 Mn (INR 756 Cr) for the previous year.

Like PolicyBazaar, another SoftBank portfolio company, Delhivery has also been cotemplating an IPO for a while now. However with the latest infusion of funds, Delhivery is set to stay private for longer

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.