Shiprocket To Raise INR 219 Cr From KDT Ventures, Others

SUMMARY

Led by US-based KDT Ventures, the funding round will also see participation from Japan-based MUFG Bank, Tribe Capital, SAI Global and Huddle Ventures

Shiprocket’s board passed a special resolution to issue 50,461 Series E3 CCPS at an issue price of INR 43,394 apiece

Earlier this month, the Competition Commission of India approved MUFG Bank and KDT Venture Holdings’ applications to acquire a stake in the logistics unicorn

Logistics startup shiprocket is raising INR 219 Cr (around $26 Mn) in a funding round, which will be led by US-based venture capital (VC) firm KDT Ventures.

The round will also see participation from Japan-based MUFG Bank, Tribe Capital, SAI Global and Huddle Ventures.

As per the startup’s Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings accessed by Inc42, Shiprocket’s board, on December 17, passed a special resolution to issue 50,461 Series E3 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of INR 43,394 apiece to the investors.

Of the total, KDT Ventures will invest INR 124.5 Cr in the company. While SAI Global will pump INR 38.09 Cr in the logistics startup, Tribe Capital and Huddle Ventures will invest INR 6.22 Cr and INR 34.71 Lakh, respectively.

Meanwhile, MUFG Bank will invest 49.79 Cr in the logistics major in two separate tranches. As per the filing, the second tranche “will be invested by MUFG Bank subject to the terms and conditions set out” in the share subscription agreement.

The development was first reported by Entrackr.

This comes a couple of months after MUFG Bank and US-based Koch Group knocked on the doors of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to approve their proposal to pick up minority stakes in the logistics unicorn. Earlier this month, the watchdog approved MUFG Bank and KDT Venture Holdings’ applications to acquire a stake in the startup.

Founded in 2017 by Saahil Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati, and Gautam Kapoor, Shiprocket aggregates third-party logistics companies. The startup works with 17 courier partners, including Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, and Shadowfax.

The latest fundraise comes at a time when the startup has been on an acquisition spree. In the past two years, Shiprocket has acquired five companies – Wigzo, Pickrr, Glaucus Supply Chain Solutions, Rocketbox and Omuni. CEO and MD Goel told Inc42 earlier this year that the startup plans to acquire more companies in the coming months.

The fresh infusion is also likely to help the startup experiment with new offerings. For instance, Inc42 exclusively reported in August that Shiprocket was piloting a D2C marketplace Zop. Recently, it also became one of the only two companies selected by the Centre to set up pilot ecommerce export hubs (EEHs) in the country.

On the financial front, Shiprocket’s revenue jumped 20.8% to INR 1,316 Cr in the financial year 2023-2024 (FY24) from INR 1,089 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, net loss zoomed about 75% to INR 595 Cr in FY24 from INR 341 Cr in FY23.