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Decoding $88.5 Mn Udaan-Shopkirana stock deal

EntrackrEntrackr · 22h ago
Decoding $88.5 Mn Udaan-Shopkirana stock deal
Medial

Udaan has acquired Shopkirana in an all-stock deal, marking a notable consolidation in the grocery commerce space. While both firms have termed the deal strategic, Entrackr’s analysis suggests it is an unremarkable acquisition from an investor’s perspective. According to regulatory filings, the board of Info Edge has approved the transfer of its entire 26.14% stake in ShopKirana, held through its wholly-owned subsidiary Startup Investments Holding Ltd (SIHL), to Hiveloop Technology Pvt Ltd (HEPL), a subsidiary of Trustroot Internet (Udaan’s parent entity) based out of Singapore. In return, Info Edge will receive 1.68 crore shares of Hiveloop Technology, which translates to around 0.91% of HEPL on a fully diluted basis. These shares are linked to 73,561 reference shares at the Udaan parent and are valued at approximately $23.13 million, as per the agreement. The swap pegs Shopkirana’s total enterprise value at roughly $88.5 million, based on the value attributed to Info Edge’s minority stake (26.14%). According to the disclosure, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions mentioned in the agreements. According to Entrackr’s analysis, ShopKiarana will get a 3.48% value of Udaan’s India business as per the Info Edge holding in Udaan’s Indian entity. Shopkirana has raised over $50 million in its lifetime from Info Edge, Sixth Sense Ventures, Oman India Joint Investment Fund, and others. Founded in 2015, ShopKirana focuses on digitizing procurement for kirana stores across smaller cities such as Indore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Agra, Surat, and Meerut. Its integration with Udaan will expand the latter’s reach in high-frequency categories like fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) business. For the fiscal year ended in March 2024, Shopkirana’s gross revenue decreased 6.26% to Rs 639.16 crore in FY24 from Rs 681.81 crore in FY23. However, the firm managed to reduce its losses by 30% to Rs 55 crore in FY24. The transaction is yet another indicator of the investor fatigue and challenges in the grocery commerce space. Firms have found it extremely difficult to squeeze out profits, even as scale has been relatively easier to acquire thanks to the sheer size of the category. Only the biggest will offer a market-based exit to investors, while consolidation might be the way out for the rest. ShopKirana has probably tried to become acquisition-ready by controlling costs, but paid a price in terms of topline growth. For Udaan, which has been on a push towards reducing EBITDA losses for the past two years, a stock swap is the best outcome while it hopes for an upside in due course. With any potential exit some time away, ShopKirana is a relatively low-risk acquisition that it will hope can surprise on the upside.

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Decoding Rapido’s $120 Mn unicorn round

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Decoding Rapido’s $120 Mn unicorn round
Medial

Mobility startup Rapido recently turned unicorn after raising $120 million in a Series E funding round from WestBridge Capital through its various investment vehicles including SETU AIF and Konark. While the firm didn’t announce the funding officially, Entrackr has sifted through its regulatory filings to decode every detail of the round which was entirely led by WestBridge —an uncommon deal in the ecosystem. The board at Rapido has passed a special resolution to issue 10 equity, 95,479 Series E, and 95,489 Series E1 compulsory convertible preferred shares at Rs 52,467 each to raise Rs 1,002 crore (approximately $120 million) from WestBridge Capital through its 3 investment vehicles including SETU AIF, Konark, and MMPL Trust. Notably, shares issued worth Rs 501 crore were fully paid-up shares while the other 50% is partly-paid up. This essentially means that Rapido will receive the partly paid amount (Rs 501 crore) in tranches. Rapido will use the proceeds for expansion and growth, as per filings. According to the startup data intelligence platform, TheKredible’s estimates, Rapido was valued at around Rs 8,517 crore (approximately $1.02 billion) in the series E round. With this investment, WestBridge remained the largest external stakeholder with 32.88%, followed by Swiggy and Nexus Ventures, which own 12.32% and 8.19%, respectively. See TheKredibe for the complete shareholding pattern. Rapido also claimed to have left Ola behind and became the number two player after Uber in the overall ride-hailing space (bike, auto, and cabs). As of March 2024, Uber processed 19.3 lakh rides on a daily basis while Rapido did 16.5 lakh rides a day followed by Ola which did 13 lakh rides, as per Rapido’s internal documents reviewed by Entrackr. While Rapido is yet to disclose FY24 numbers, the firm’s operating revenue surged 3X to Rs 443 crore during FY23. The steep growth in scale also caused a 54% spike in losses, which stood at Rs 675 crore in FY23.

Udaan closes Series G round at $114 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Udaan closes Series G round at $114 Mn
Medial

Udaan closes Series G round at $114 Mn: B2B e-commerce platform Udaan has announced the closure of its Series G round at $114 million, led by M&G Investments and Lightspeed, with participation from other existing and new investors. In February, the Bengaluru-based company raised $75 million as the first tranche of the Series G round at a flat valuation. According to Entrackr’s estimate, Udaan was valued at around $1.8 billion in the previous round, when it raised $340 million led by M&G Plc, with participation from Lightspeed and others. The fresh capital will be deployed to strengthen Udaan’s category and customer footprint, with focus on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category and hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) customer segment, the company said in a press release. Udaan will also accelerate its private label brands initiatives in the staples category. This capital raise will also fortify Udaan’s balance sheet, providing enhanced financial flexibility as the company advances toward its public market debut. “Over the last 3 years, we have transformed the business by building cost as a capability and a competitive advantage. We have reduced our EBITDA burn by 40% every year for the last 3 years and are on track to achieve full group EBITDA profitability in the next 18 months,” said Vaibhav Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Udaan. Udaan claims to have clocked more than 60% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in CY 2024, alongside a contribution margin improvement of over 300 basis points. Along with this margin growth and operating leverage at scale, Udaan also reduced its fixed costs by 20%, resulting in a 40% reduction in EBITDA burn in CY 2024 and an additional 20% reduction year-to-date in CY 2025. While Udaan has yet to disclose its FY25 numbers, its gross revenue (GMV) grew only 1.7% to Rs 5,706.6 crore in FY24, compared to Rs 5,609.3 crore in FY23. However, it managed to control its losses by 19.4% to Rs 1,674.1 crore in the same period.

Udaan raises $75 Mn at flat valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Udaan raises $75 Mn at flat valuation
Medial

Udaan raises $75 Mn at flat valuation B2B e-commerce platform Udaan has raised $75 million in a Series G equity funding round at a flat valuation, as announced by the company’s co-founder and CEO, Vaibhav Gupta, during a town hall today. Sources assert that the company has been valued in the range of $1.5 to $1.8 billion in this round. According to sources, Udaan plans to use the funds to uplift customer experience, expand market reach, strengthen strategic vendor partnerships, and beef up supply chain and credit infrastructure. Last month, Udaan received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its various business entities into a unified entity, Hiveloop Ecommerce Pvt Ltd. This consolidation marks a significant milestone in its journey toward becoming a publicly listed company. In October 2024, Udaan secured Rs 300 crore (over $35 million) in debt funding from Lighthouse Canton, Stride Ventures, InnoVen Capital, and Trifecta Capital. The company has raised around $1.9 billion in debt and equity funding to date. Udaan’s gross revenue (GMV) grew only 1.7% to Rs 5,706.6 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2024 in contrast to Rs 5,609.3 crore booked in FY23. However, it managed to control its losses by 19.4% to Rs 1,674.1 crore in the same period.

Decoding Atlum Credo’s $40 Mn primary and secondary round

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Decoding Atlum Credo’s $40 Mn primary and secondary round
Medial

Digital payments company Altum Credo recently announced $40 million in its Series C round led by Z3Partners and Oikocredit. Apart from primary capital, the company also offered partial exit to its backers. While the company didn’t disclose any details besides round size and investors, Entrackr has reviewed its regulatory filings to decode details such as round break up, shareholding, valuation, and secondary component in the deal. The board at Altum Credo has passed a special resolution to issue 300 equity and 1,99,99,700 Series C CCPS at an issue price of Rs 114 each to raise Rs 228 crore or $27 million as a primary capital, its regulatory filing accessed through the Registrar of Companies shows. Oikocredit and Z3 Partners (BII) invested Rs 80 crore and Rs 85 crore while British International Investment, Amicus Capital, and Avishkaar India pumped in Rs 26 crore, 12 crore, and 25 crore, respectively, in primary fundraising. According to the shareholder agreement between investors, there is also a secondary transaction where 1,03,96,040 shares have been sold worth Rs 118.5 or $14 million. Out of Rs 118.5 crore of secondary transactions, ABF (Avishkar Bharat Fund) sold Rs 79 crore worth of shares while promoters sold Rs 13.54 crore worth of shares. PS Pai and family purchased Rs 79 crore worth of shares in the secondary transactions from Avishakkar Bharat Fund and promoters. According to TheKredible’s estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 1165 crore or $149 million post-allotment. Altum Credo provides financial accessibility for first-home buyers across semi-urban and rural areas of India. It provides home loans in the range of Rs 4 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for a tenure of 5-20 years. Following the fresh proceeds, Avishkaar remains the largest external stakeholder with 15.92% followed by Amicus Capital. Oikocredit and Z3 Partners command 7.62% and 8.09% stake of the company. Head to TheKredible for the complete shareholding pattern. While the company is yet to file its financial statements for FY24, Altum Credo’s revenue from operations scaled 102.4% to Rs 67.2 crore in FY23. As per TheKredible, its profit shot up 99% to Rs 8.95 crore during FY23.

ShopKirana struggles to scale in FY24, narrows losses by 30%

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
ShopKirana struggles to scale in FY24, narrows losses by 30%
Medial

B2B e-commerce platform ShopKirana has struggled to scale in the last fiscal year as the company's gross revenue fell by over 6%. However, the Info Edge-funded company reduced its losses by over 30% in FY24. Shopkirana's gross revenue decreased 6.26% to Rs 639.16 crore in FY24 from Rs 681.81 crore in FY23, according to its consolidated financial statement sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC). ShopKirana is a B2B e-commerce platform that connects retailers and brands directly through a mobile app and helps them in placing orders, maintaining inventory, optimising the delivery routes and making payments. Besides helping in procurement, the platform provides financial services such as banking and loan facilities. The company's revenue is predominantly derived from product sales, contributing Rs 637.32 crore (99.71% of operational revenue). The revenue from product sales declined 6.3% from Rs 680 crore in FY23. Revenue from services saw an 85.29% increase, reaching Rs 1.26 crore, while non-operating revenue added Rs 4.2 crore, bringing the total revenue to Rs 643.37 crore in the last fiscal year. On the expense side, cost of materials, its largest expense, decreased by 7.14% to Rs 627.3 crore, while employee benefit expenses fell by 17.65% to Rs 35 crore. Transportation costs and other expenses also declined by 23.57% and 24.95%, respectively. Overall, Shopkirana's total expenses dropped by 8.81% to Rs 698.63 crore in the last fiscal year. In the end, ShopKirana managed to reduce its losses by 30.5% to Rs 55.25 crore in FY24. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at -69.6% and -7.85%, respectively. On a unit basis, the firm spent Rs 1.09 to earn a rupee in FY24. As of March 2024, the firm reported Rs 90.75 crore of current assets including Rs 27.8 crore of cash and bank balance. According to TheKredible, ShopKirana has raised a total of $50.46 million in funding till date. Its lead investors include Info Edge, Sixth Sense Ventures, Oman India Joint Investment fund. Shopkirana majorly competes with Jumbotail and Udaan. Lightspeed-backed Udaan is the largest player in this space which posted Rs 5,706.6 crore GMV in FY24. Jumbotail, which reported Rs 850 crore revenue in FY23, has yet to file its annual report for FY24. But with none of them close to breakeven, it remains a tough segment to be in. While the attraction is undeniable, we believe most firms have underestimated the margin pressure in the segment. B2B anywhere tends to offer a more organised market with consistent numbers, but margins are usually an issue. That has left these firms scrambling to cut losses even at the cost of growth, no surprise considering their backers are not really known to offer the kind of blank cheque funding from say, a Softbank or even a Tiger Global or Prosus. The usual recourse in the B2B segment, to offer financing solutions is also not an option here, leaving these firms to offer support to a segment that itself is under fire from quick commerce as well. All in all, a situation ripe for a major pivot or at least a search for more revenue streams.

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