Solv In Talks To Merge With Jumbotail: Report

SUMMARY

The deal is valued at around $50 Mn (around INR 425 Cr) and will likely be a mix of cash and equity

Through the merger, Jumbotail aims to strengthen its B2B offerings and provide credit to SMEs where Solv has a presence

The potential merger comes at a time when the B2B grocery market is going through a phase of consolidation with several new-age tech companies in the space either struggling to keep afloat or scaling down massively

SBI Group-backed B2B digital marketplace Solv is in advanced negotiations for a merger with Bengaluru-based B2B company Jumbotail.

If the deal materialises, Jumbotail, which runs an online B2B marketplace for groceries and food, will seek to bolster its position in areas such as credit to micro and small enterprises (SMEs), Moneycontrol reported, citing sources.

The transaction is valued at around $50 Mn (around INR 425 Cr) and will likely be a mix of cash and equity. The deal will also see Solv CEO Amit Bansal’s departure from the company.

However, S Karthik Venkhateswaran, cofounder of Jumbotail, denied reports of a potential merger with Solv.

“As a market leader in B2B e-commerce and New Retail, we regularly evaluate opportunities to acquire high-potential companies as part of our inorganic growth strategy. However, we can unequivocally confirm that the information you have is speculative and factually incorrect. We do not comment on market rumors or speculations,” the company told Inc42.

Founded by Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina in 2015, Jumbotail offers a suite of go-to-market products and services for new and emerging brands looking to reach mom-and-pop stores. It runs a B2B marketplace for groceries and food, which primarily caters to wholesale buyers.

According to Jumbotail, 100% of its sales are generated by unassisted digital orders placed organically by kirana stores across the country via the Jumbotail B2B digital retailer app.

The company raised INR 151 Cr (around $18.3 Mn) in a Series C3 funding round led by Artal Asia last year.

Solv is a B2B ecommerce marketplace that helps retailers and other businesses source products directly from suppliers across the country. It also operates a financial services marketplace to provide credit to SMEs.

Solv’s potential merger with Jumbotail comes at a time when the B2B grocery space is going through a phase of consolidation marked by mergers and acquisitions with several new-age tech companies operating in the space either struggling to stay afloat or scaling down.

For instance, DealShare wound down its B2B operations in 2023, which accounted for almost half of its revenues at the time. Since then, three of its cofounders have exited the company to float their own ventures in other sectors.

DealShare’s operating revenue slumped 75% to INR 499 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 1,963.5 Cr in the previous year.

Update | February 10, 9:48 PM: The article has been updated to include Jumbotail’s statement.