Business-to-business (B2B) marketplace IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd said it has picked up 26% stake in industrial e-commerce platform IB Monotaro Pvt Ltd (IMPL) for Rs 104.2 crore.
While, Japan-based Monotaro will own 51.6% of IB Monotaro, Emtex Engineering, which represents the promoter group and early investors, on the other hand will hold 22.4%.
IB Monotaro under its brand name 'Industry Buying' is engaged in the e-commerce business for industrial and business supplies in India.
IndiaMART expects to close the transaction within 30 days.
The total revenue of IMPL for the financial year ended March 31, 2021, was Rs. 7.2 crore.
IndiaMART has been investing aggressively in startups. In 2021, the company via Tradezeal acquired a 26% stake in Gurugram-based Shipway Technology for Rs 18.2 crore, and it also bought an additional 3.02% stake in Kolkata-based Truckhall. Earlier this month, Indiamart invested $2 million in EasyEcom, an e-commerce enabler platform, for a 26% stake.
IndiaMart also led $19.4 million (around Rs 145 crore) Series B in Fleetx Technologies, which runs fleet management platform Fleetx.io, on February 22nd.
IndiaMART’s December quarter results logged a net profit decline of 12% from a year earlier. The company reported a rise in its revenue from operations but its operating costs surged during the period, hitting its net and operating profits.
It reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 70 crore for the quarter ended December, against a net profit of Rs 80 crore from a year earlier, the company’s regulatory filings with the stock exchanges showed.
During the time, revenue from operations increased by 8% to Rs 188 crore, bringing total income to Rs 210 crore, but operating expenditures increased by 27% to Rs 109 crore. As a result, the company's profits before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) or operational profit for the December quarter decreased to Rs 79 crore from Rs 88 crore the previous quarter.