Delhivery Pvt. Ltd has raised $100 million (Rs 655 crore) from private equity firm the Carlyle Group and existing investor Tiger Global, marking the largest funding round for an Indian logistics services provider focused on the growing e-commerce segment.
Carlyle said in a statement on Friday it will acquire a “significant†minority stake in the company through the investment, made from its Carlyle Asia Partners IV fund.
“We see significant potential for technology-enabled logistics in the country with the growth of e-commerce as well as increasing customer focus on on-time delivery and service levels,†said Neeraj Bhardwaj, managing director at Carlyle Asia. “Delhivery, with its industry-leading service metrics and cost efficiency, is well-positioned to benefit from these future growth opportunities.â€
Carlyle didn’t give any other financial details but The Economic Times reported that the round valued Delhivery at over $600 million.
Delhivery was founded in 2011 by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, Suraj Saharan, Bhavesh Manglani and Kapil Bharati. It has grown from a local on-demand delivery company to a full-fledged logistics services provider. Delhivery claims to provide logistics services across 600 cities in India and operates 12 fulfilment centres. The firm registered revenue of Rs 524 crore for the financial year ended 31 March 2016 with a loss of Rs 317 crore.
Delhivery, in May 2015, raised $85 million in a Series D round of funding led by Tiger Global with participation from existing investors Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Nexus Venture Partners and Times Internet Ltd. It previously raised close to $40 million in various rounds from a number of investors after raising its first funding round from Times Internet in 2012.
It wasn’t immediately clear if any other existing investors put in more money or exited during this round. An email to Delhivery seeking details of the transaction didn’t receive any response till the filing of this article.
Tiger Global is also an investor in business-to-business logistics startup BlackBuck, which raised $70 million (Rs 476 crore) in a Series C funding round earlier this week. The round was led by Sands Capital. Accel Partners, Flipkart and International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm, also put in money.
Another competitor in this segment is Rivigo, a Gurgaon-based logistics services provider operated by TrucksFirst Services Pvt. Ltd, which secured $75 million from private equity firm Warburg Pincus in a Series C round in November last year.
Earlier this month, Bangalore-based Catbus Infolabs Pvt. Ltd, which operates intra-city logistics startup Blowhorn, raised Rs 25 crore ($3.65 million) in Series A funding from IDG Ventures India, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and existing investors Draper Associates and Unitus Seed Fund.
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