Logistics Unicorn BlackBuck Raises INR 553 Cr In Series D Round

Bengaluru-headquartered logistics startup BlackBuck has raised INR 553 Cr ($79.9 Mn) in a Series D round from Accel Partners US, Goldman Sachs and B-Capital.

According to Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings of BlackBuck’s parent company Zinka Logistics Solutions Pvt Ltd, the company raised the funds in two rounds of INR 249.78 Cr ($36.09 Mn) and INR 303.31 Cr ($43.28 Mn) issuing 12,903 and 15,668 Series D compulsorily convertible preference shares respectively. The development was first reported by Paper.vc.

The company issued Series D round at a premium of INR 19,3579.51 for every share with a face value of INR 10. Here’s a breakdown of the rounds:

• Accel Growth Fund V LP picked up 11,060 Series D CCPS at INR 214.1 Cr
• Global Private Opportunities Partners III LP picked up 11,060 Series D CCPS at INR 214.1 Cr
• B Capital Asia I LP picked up 4,678 Series D CCPS at INR 90.5 Cr
• B Capital Global BB SPV I picked up 1,773 Series D CCPS at INR 34.3 Cr

Inc42 had earlier reported in March that the company’s pre-money valuation reached $1.11 Bn (INR 7,732 Cr) as on December 31, 2018. Interestingly, this is approximately 4x jump from its valuation in September 2018, the filings showed.

The company’s filings also showed that it aims to achieve profitability by December 2021.

BlackBuck Extends Reach To Remote Locations

Founded in 2015 by Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya, and Rama Subramaniam, BlackBuck offers its services across more than 1,000 locations and also reaches and impacts over 2,000 villages in India. It has truck services listed on its platform and does an intelligent match for customers, based on their requirements.

Prior to this round, BlackBuck had raised $127 Mn from marquee investors such as Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners.

In FY18, the company reported a 59% jump in its revenue to $128.3 Mn (INR 902 Cr) with a loss of $16.6 Mn (INR 116.7 Cr), up 35% in the year. Notably, BlackBuck earns about 15-20% commission for providing business to trucks it hires.

The company claims to work with more than 10K shippers and over 250K trucks and uses sophisticated machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to track freight logistics data across India, and provide the best match-making (matching shipper and FO) at the best prices.

State Of Logistics In India

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.

Over the years, startups in this sector have come up with innovative new technologies with logistics-related software solutions, last-mile delivery, robotics, automation solutions. Indian logistics sector is currently valued at $160 Bn and is poised to hit $215 Bn by 2020.

With logistics being a major enabler of the Indian ecommerce industry, unicorns have continued to erupt from the logistics market making it a heavy and intense battle of dominance.

In March, ecommerce logistics player Delhivery received $400 Mn in a funding round led by Japanese investment firm SoftBank. Other existing investors in the company such as private equity firm Carlyle Group, and China-based conglomerate and investment company Fosun, also reportedly participated in this round. This round is believed to have taken Delhivery’s valuation to about $1.5 Bn.

In another major bet on the logistics sector, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (‘RIIHL’) will acquire equity shares of Grab A Grub Services Private Limited (‘Grab’) in a cash deal worth $14.9 Mn (INR 106 Cr). At a later stage, the company will also invest up to $5.63 Mn (INR 40 Cr) to complete the acquisition deal by March 2021.

With conglomerates, major investors and innovators coming together in the logistics space, the sector has just started to show its potential.

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