Unicommerce Acquires Shipway, Buys 57% Remaining Stake

SUMMARY

Unicommerce said it has completed the buyout of courier aggregator platform Shipway by purchasing the remaining 57.24% stake

Ecommerce-focussed SaaS major said that the acquisition will enable it to strengthen its offerings in the ecommerce enablement space and strengthening customer relationships

Unicommerce also announced the departure of three SMPs of the company including director of operations, head of sales for India and senior director of marketing

Update | March 21, 5:20 PM

Ecommerce-focussed SaaS major Unicommerce said it has completed the buyout of courier aggregator platform Shipway by purchasing the remaining 57.24% stake.

With this acquisition, Shipway has now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Unicommerce.

This comes a day after Unicommerce said it would raise its stake to 100% in Shipway through a share swap transaction.

Original Story | March 21, 2:00 AM

Listed SaaS platform Unicommerce on Thursday (March 20) announced the acquisition of the remaining 57.24% stake in shipping solutions platform Shipway in a share swap deal.

In a filing with the exchanges, Unicommerce said that it will issue 60.3 Lakh shares to Shipway cofounders Vikas Garg and Gaurav Gupta as well as shareholder Puneet Gupta in lieu of 7,610 equity shares of shipping solutions startup.

“The Board of Directors… have approved issuance of equity shares of the Company on a preferential basis for consideration other than cash wherein Unicommerce… is acquiring 7,610 Equity Shares of Shipway… held by Mr. Vikas Garg, Mr. Gaurav Gupta and Mr. Puneet Gupta… in lieu of issuance of 60,33,189 Equity Shares of the Company by way of swap of shares…,” said Unicommerce.

Once the deal materialises, Shipway, which was previously a subsidiary of the SaaS company, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unicommerce. The transaction is, however, subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the next 15 days.

“Issue of shares for consideration other than cash i.e., Share swap. The Company will issue and allot 60,33,189 equity shares (the swap ratio being 1:8.9),” read the filing.

Unicommerce said that the complete acquisition of Shipway will enable it to strengthen its offerings in the ecommerce enablement space. The listed company also noted that the deal aligns with its larger goal of strengthening customer relationships across pre and post-purchase stages in the ecommerce enablement market.

Founded in 2015 by Gupta and Garg, Shipway offers an automated shipping solution software, which, as per the company, enables optimal courier allocation. It also operates an automated marketing technology platform called ConvertWay, which allows brands to target their customers using AI-enabled tools.

It is pertinent to note that Unicommerce acquired a 42.7% stake in Shipway for INR 68.4 Cr in November 2024. Previously in 2021, B2B marketplace IndiaMART InterMESH also picked up a 26% stake in the company for INR 18.2 Cr.

Meanwhile, the board meeting on Thursday also saw Unicommerce amend its articles of association. Under the new rules, backer SoftBank and B2 Capital will now be entitled to nominate one non-executive nominee director each on the company’s board.

Still subject to the approval of the shareholders, the new amendments give nomination rights to the two investors till they have minimum shareholding in the company, or 8% of the total equity share capital, excluding ESOP pool.

Additionally, Unicommerce also announced the departure of three senior management personnel (SMPs) of the company including director of operations Prateek Mahajan, head of sales for India Pranay Kale and senior director of marketing Vaibhav Malhotra.

While Mahajan stepped down from the company on February 14, 2025, both Kale and Malhotra tendered their resignation on November 18, 2024.

The development comes a week after promoters and directors Kunal Bahl and Rohit Kumar Bansal increased their stakes in the listed SaaS company by acquiring 93,500 additional shares from the open market for INR 49 Lakhs each.

Founded in 2012 by Karun Singla, Ankit Pruthi and Vibhu Garg, Unicommerce was acquired by Snapdeal in 2015. It is an ecommerce enablement SaaS platform which allows sellers to manage their ecommerce operations across pre-purchase and post-purchase segments.

Its solution suite includes marketing automation, streamlining operations and logistic services to reduce shipment costs.

On the financial front, the listed SaaS company saw its profits zoom 62.1% to INR 6.29 Cr in the third quarter (Q3) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 3.88 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, revenue from contract with customers rose 26% to INR 32.74 Cr in the quarter under review from INR 25.96 Cr in Q3 FY24.