Ontario Teachers Fund Gets CCI Nod To Acquire Minority Stake In XpressBees

SUMMARY

In an order, CCI said that it accorded approval to acquire a stake in XpressBees’ parent BusyBees Logistics Solution via the green channel route

CCI also said that the pension board's proposed transaction would not cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition in the country

This comes amid reports that the 3PL startup was in talks with the Ontario teachers’ fund to raise $100 Mn at a valuation of $1.4 Bn

Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday (October 26) greenlit the Ontario teachers’ fund’s proposal to acquire a minority stake in logistics giant XpressBees.

In an order, CCI approved the proposal to acquire stake in XpressBees’ parent BusyBees Logistics Solution via the green channel route. Under the green channel route, a transaction that does not risk major adverse impact on competition is deemed to be approved on being intimated to the competition watchdog.

It also added that the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan board’s proposed transaction would not cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition in the country.

“Given that there are no horizontal overlaps, vertical relationships, or complementary businesses between the Acquirer (OTPP) and the Target (BusyBees) in India, the proposed transaction will not cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India and is being notified under the green channel route,” said the competition watchdog.

The approval was granted under regulation 5A, among other provisions of the Competition Commission of India Regulations, 2011.

There was no clarity on the stake that the OTPP board intends to acquire and the proposed monetary size of the transaction.

Curiously, this comes a couple of months after reports surfaced that the third-party logistics (3PL) startup was in talks with the Ontario teachers’ fund to raise $100 Mn at a valuation of $1.4 Bn.

XpressBees was hived off as a separate entity from its parent and kids ecommerce giant FirstCry way back in 2015. The startup offers B2B, B2C and cross-border logistics services, and has more than 100 hubs spanning 3 Mn sq. ft. of warehouse capacity under its belt. The platform reportedly caters to 20,000 pin codes across the country and handles more than 3 Mn shipments a day.

XpressBees was publicly last pegged at a valuation of $1.1 Bn back in February last year when it picked up $300 Mn in funding from Blackstone, TPG, ChrysCapital, among others. However, in April this year, the logistics unicorn raised $40 Mn from Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad after existing investor Elevation Capital sold a stake in the company via a secondary sale.

XpressBees competes with the likes of 3PL giants such as listed startup Delhivery and Ecom Express.

The startup last reported a net loss of INR 27.1 Cr, down 57% YoY, in FY22 against an operating revenue of INR 1,904.4 Cr, up 1.8X YoY.