Though financial details weren’t disclosed, people familiar with the transaction said it is an all-cash deal worth $300 million. The Delhivery-Spoton deal comes a month after the GIC-backed company
raised $100 million from FedEx Express, a subsidiary of global logistics solutions provider FedEx Corp.
“This development is consistent with our objective of being growth-oriented and building scale in each of our business lines,” Sahil Barua, chief executive of Delhivery, said. “Over the last 10 years, Delhivery has established a leading position in B2C logistics, and now by combining our truckload business with Spoton’s, we will be on the path to the same position in B2B express as well.”
Spoton started its journey in 2012 when private equity firm India Equity Partners bought the domestic business from TNT India. In 2018, Spoton
partnered with a consortium of investors led by Samara Capital and Xponentia Fund Partners for the next stage of its growth. Both Samara Capital and Xponentia are now exiting the firm.
“We will continue to invest in improving our clients’ businesses through our investments in people, technology, network and infrastructure,” Spoton’s MD Abhik Mitra said. “Our teams and our business partners will have an opportunity to be part of a much larger organisation with significant opportunities for growth.”
Kotak Mahindra Capital Company acted as the financial advisor and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. acted as the legal advisor to Delhivery for this transaction.
According to Pankaj Kalra, senior executive director at Kotak Investment Banking, the acquisition of Spoton Logistics will help Delhivery emerge as one of the largest express less-than-load solution providers in India and serve new clients and industries.
“With more than 1,000 logistics companies in the country, we believe that the $300 billion logistic industry stands on the cusp of consolidation,” he said. “We expect only 8-10 large logistics firms to dominate the market. This transaction is another step in this direction.”
Delhivery IPO
In an interview with ET in June, Delhivery’s Barua said the company
is likely to launch its $500-million IPO and list on the Indian stock exchanges by early next year. The company constituted a board sub-committee for its IPO and M&As in January.
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ETtech IPO Watch: A decade of Delhivery
“The company is still working out details of the issue, including its size. However, given that we already have substantial cash on our balance sheet, we expect it to be a primary issue in the $400-500 million range,” he had said then. “ Since we are an Indian company and have a substantial part of our business here, we will list locally.”
