SoftBank Group to invest $450 million in logistics company Delhivery; Gurugram-based firm to be valued at $1 billion

Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is reportedly set to invest $450 million in logistics company Delhivery, taking valuation of the Gurgaon-based company at over $1 billion,  a media report said. According to The Economic Times, SoftBank’s Vision Fund will invest around $350 million in the Indian logistics firm initially. During the second transaction the Japanese firm will infuse an estimated $100 million, the newspaper said. Following the deal, SoftBank Group will become the single largest shareholder with 32 percent stake while The Carlyle Group will control 11 percent. In May, it was reported that Delhivery was looking to float an initial public offering (IPO). “Delhivery is looking to go public and they have initiated a process to appoint investment bankers to advise it on the public offering…,” a person aware of the development was quoted as saying by Mint. [caption id=“attachment_324634” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] In May 2017, Delhivery received $30 million (about Rs 200 crore) funding from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. This investment was a part of the bigger equity financing round where The Carlyle Group pumped in $100 million in March that year to pick up a minority stake in the firm. The Gurugram-based company was launched in 2011 by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, and Suraj Saharan with an aim to disrupt the logistics supply chain market. Later, they were joined by Bhavesh Manglani, and Kapil Bharati. Delhivery was initially founded as a food delivery company but later shifted to providing logistics services. In March 2015, the startup raised $85 million in a Series D round led by Tiger Global Management with participation from existing investors, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Nexus Venture Partners, and Times Internet Limited. Prior to that, in September 2014, it had raised its Series C round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management. The startup currently claims to service about 600 cities and 8,500 pin-codes. It has about 12 fulfilment centres for B2C and B2B fulfilment services and works with companies like Flipkart and Paytm. India’s logistics sector is set to expand strongly as the government unveiled the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and through growing online retail sales. With inputs from agencies