Logistics Unicorn Xpressbees Acquires Trackon

Logistics unicorn Xpressbees has acquired the New Delhi-based courier firm Trackon in an all-cash transaction to enter the SME courier space.

The deal would leverage Xpressbees’ existing network to scale up Trackon nationwide. Trackon has primarily focused on the northern and western parts of the country, serving around 5,000 pin codes. Xpressbees is present across 15,000 pin codes.

“We will expand Trackon using our network and also look at cross-selling our existing services through the franchise network of Trackon,” Amitava Saha, the CEO of Xpressbees, said. “I firmly believe it will empower our respective businesses, change consumer experience for
the better, and enable us to build significant synergies across the two organisations,” added Saha.

As part of the deal, Prabhat Kumar Anand, founder and CMD of Trackon, will continue to lead the business for at least the next two years. Cofounders Pramod Kumar Singh, Dinesh Rautela and Yoginder Kumar Dabas will move on as part of the acquisition.

“Our partnership with Xpressbees enables us to scale up our business and reach quite significantly. By combining our experience with the capabilities of Xpressbees we will be able to expand our service lines to our existing clients while continuing to offer best-in-class services,” said Anand.

The acquisition comes as the logistics giant is looking at a possible $100 Mn cash injection from the Canada-based Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. The firm is looking at picking up a stake in the startup at a valuation of $1.4 Bn.

The valuation is slightly higher than what Xpreesbees commanded when it entered the coveted unicorn club in January 2022 after raising $300 Mn in its Series F round. The logistics major had raised the funds at a $1.2 Bn valuation.

In April, the Pune-based logistics startup raised $40 Mn from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, via a secondary sale. The startup counts the likes of Investcorp, Blackstone Group, Chrys Capital, TPG Growth and Alibaba Group among its major investors, having secured more than $640 Mn in funding across 11 funding rounds.

Founded in 2015 as a spin-off entity from the IPO-bound kids ecommerce major FirstCry, Xpressbees offers B2B, B2C and cross-border logistics services. With 100+ hubs and 3 Mn sq. ft. of warehouse capacity, Xpressbees delivers goods to more than 20,000 pin codes in India.

Xpressbees generates revenue by offering logistics, warehousing, and delivery services to its clients. It offers both B2C and B2B deliveries, along with cross-border logistics and 3PL services. Some of its major clients include Flipkart, Meesho, Snapdeal and Mi, among others. 

The startup’s net loss declined over 57% to INR 27.1 Cr in FY22 from INR 63.4 Cr in FY21, while its operating revenue soared 1.8X to INR 1,904.4 Cr in FY22 from INR 1,010.1 Cr in FY21.