Unicommerce Acquires 42.76% Stake In Shipway

Ecommerce SaaS company Unicommerce has acquired a 42.7% stake in ecommerce shipping solutions provider Shipway for INR 68.4 Cr to expand its product suite.

Unicommerce said that the transaction is part of its plan to acquire a 100% stake in Shipway. As part of this, the SaaS company will acquire the remaining stake in Shipway within a year via a merger or stock swap.

The acquisition will allow Unicommerce to expand its solutions into courier aggregation, shipping automation and returns reduction. Noting that its current product stack is focused on warehousing and order management, Unicommerce said that Shipway’s “complementary” range of solutions will allow it to cover the entire ecommerce journey, including pre-purchase and other post-purchase segments.

Further, it will also allow the company to offer its client an integrated marketing platform for targeted, segmented and broader marketing activities. Shipway’s marketing solution ‘ConvertWay’ will allow brands to undertake SMS and WhatsApp marketing campaigns. 

“Our collective product suite of software solutions from Unicommerce and Shipway will be transformative, offering an unparalleled, one-stop, seamless solution to simplify ecommerce for businesses in India, including and beyond our 6,500+ customers,” Unicommerce MD and CEO Kapil Makhija said. 

Unicommerce said that Shipway’s team will continue to grow the Shipway and ConvertWay businesses post the acquisition.

Beyond the enhancement to its tech stack, the acquisition will allow Unicommerce to cross sell to Shipway’s clientele, which includes names likes Durex, Lenskart, Juicy Chemistry, Tresmode, Dot & Key, Amante, Libas, Sleepy Owl, Sennheiser, among others. 

Founded by Gaurav Gupta and Vikas Garg in 2015, Shipway integrates with ecommerce software providers to offer end-to-end automation of the post-purchase experience for D2C brands. In 2021, B2B marketplace IndiaMART InterMESH acquired a 26% stake in Shipway via an investment of INR 18.2 Cr. 

In a separate filing, IndiaMART said it has divested its entire 26% stake in Shipway for INR 41.59 Cr. 

The acquisition comes days after Unicommerce reported its financials for the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal year (Q2 FY25). Its net profit rose 21% to INR 4.47 Cr from INR 3.69 Cr in Q2 FY24. Revenue from contract with customers also rose almost 13% to INR 29.30 Cr during the quarter from INR 25.93 Cr in Q2 FY24.

Shares of Unicommerce ended the day 3.85% lower at INR 197.10.