It’s Official: SoftBank Invests $350 Mn In Delhivery At $1.6 Bn Valuation

Masayoshi Son-led Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has invested about $350 Mn in Gurugram-based ecommerce logistics startup Delhivery taking its valuation to $1.6 Bn.

Earlier last week (February 27), SoftBank received the final approval from Competition Commission of India (CCI) to pick up 22.44% of the total share capital of Delhivery Pvt. Ltd. CCI also approved acquisition of preference shares in Delhivery by CA Swift Investments. Mauritius-based CA Swift Investments is the special purpose vehicle of Carlyle Group.

A paper.vc report citing a Registrar of Companies filing said that Delhivery has issued:

• 1.23 Mn Series F compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares (CCCPS) each at a premium of INR 20,063 to Cayman Islands-registered SVF Doorbell (Cayman)
• 158,831 Series-F CCCPS to existing investor Carlyle Group’s CA Swift investments at a premium of INR 20,063
• 63,532 Series-F CCCPS to existing investor Fosun International

The filing showed that SoftBank and Carlyle Group will now hold 23.41% and 12.39% respectively in the company.

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 PINs 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.

The reports of SoftBank’s investment began in October 2018, putting company’s IPO-plans on hold. Earlier in February, Delhivery acquired the India business of Dubai-based logistics firm Aramex for an undisclosed amount. Delhivery planned to take over Aramex’s local operations with effect from March 1, 2019.

The Economic Survey 2017-18 said the logistics industry is set to be worth $215 Bn in the next two years, growing at a CAGR of 10.5 %. This makes Delhivery a lucrative bet for SoftBank. Also, as a company, Delhivery has been showing a strong financial performance.

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.

According to Inc42’s State of The Indian Startup Ecosystem 2018 Report, India had over 900 logistics startups as of November 2018. Between 2014 and 2018, these startups have raised over $1.4 Bn funding across 115 deals.