Late-stage investor Avendus Future Leaders Fund has acquired a stake in e-commerce logistics provider Xpressbees from existing investor Elevation Capital, via a secondary transaction for Rs 195 crore ($24.6 million), an Expressbees spokesperson told VCCircle.
As part of the transaction, Elevation Capital, who is an early investor in Xpressbees, will continue to own a position in the company, the spokesperson said without specifying the stake details.
This transaction comes after Xpressbees raised a Series F funding of $300 million led by Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth and ChrysCapital at unicorn valuation earlier in February. A unicorn is a private-held startup with a valuation of at least $1 billion.
In a separate statement issued by Xpressbees, Amitava Saha, founder, Xpressbees, said that the latest transaction is "a great testament to the opportunity that exists in the logistics space."
Established in 2015 by Saha and Supam Maheshwari, Xpressbees is an end-to-end logistics company that caters to sectors such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods, retail, manufacturing, electronics and consumer durables. It claims that its network covers over 20000 pin codes.
Ritesh Chandra, managing partner, Avendus Future Leaders Fund, noted in the statement that the logistics sector has become a vital enabler for facilitating commerce in India in the last few years.
"Xpressbees, with its asset-light franchise model coupled with cutting-edge technology deployment across all its functions, is all set to occupy a leading position in the logistics landscape in India," added Chandra.
Avendus Future Leaders Fund, a fund floated by Avendus Asset Management Ltd, picks up minority stakes at a later stage when companies are more mature. It launched its first fund in 2019 followed by its second fund in 2021. The funds have invested in a mix of traditional and new age companies such as Lenskart, VerSe Innovation, Bikaji Foods, National Stock Exchange, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Licious and SBI General Insurance. It also invested in another logistics company Delhivery in 2020.
Delhivery debuted on the Indian stock exchanges earlier in May this year that had a strong opening.
