Exclusive: Udaan Bags INR 50 Cr In Debt Round From Blacksoil

B2B ecommerce marketplace Udaan is raising INR 50 Cr (approx $6.7 Mn) in debt through multiple tranches from venture debt firm Blacksoil. The development comes days after Inc42 exclusively reported that Udaan has received shareholders’ nod to raise up to INR 2000 Cr in debt. 

As per the regulatory filings, Udaan is allotting a total of 1000 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to Blacksoil. 

The Bengaluru-based startup is allotting 100  Series A NCDs for INR 5 Cr to Blacksoil Capital Private Limited. The startup is allotting 600 Series B NCDs for INR 30 Cr to Blacksoil Capital and 300 Series B NCDs for INR 15 Cr to Blacksoil Asset Management. 

Udaan is likely to close multiple debt rounds in the coming months. 

Founded in 2016 by former Flipkart employees Sujeet Kumar, Vaibhav Gupta and Amod Malviya, Udaan connects small and medium size businesses, manufacturers, wholesalers, traders and retailers to sell goods and other services.

Earlier this year, Udaan raised $280 Mn in funding from Octahedron Capital and Moonstone Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DST Global, GGV Capital, Altimeter Capital, and Tencent at a valuation of $3.1 Bn. 

As per Udaan’s website, it has over 5 lakh product categories ranging from electronics and appliances to footwear and medicines on its platform. The startup has more than 3 Mn retailers, more than 25K sellers and operates  in over 900 cities in the country. 

Udaan became one of the fastest startups to achieve the unicorn status in 2018 after it bagged a $225 Mn funding round from DST Global and Lightspeed Venture Partners’ global fund. 

Recently, the company was in the news, after major FMCG Indian brands Amul, Parle and other FMCG brands stopped its direct supply to the startup. As per media reports, FMCG companies such as Amul, Parle among others have alleged that Udaan is trying to monopolise distribution to retailers.

The startup had earlier dragged Parle to India’s anti-trust regulator the Competitive Commission of India alleging that it is facing a competitive setback due to Parle refusing to directly supply its highly demanded products “without any objective justification”. 

Several media reports suggest that Udaan is likely to join the bandwagon of Indian startups going for IPO in the next 2 years.

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