Zomato, a prominent player in the foodtech industry, is said to have extended an acquisition proposal to Shiprocket, a unicorn in the field of ecommerce logistics.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Zomato’s proposal estimates the SaaS logistics platform’s value at approximately $2 billion. Insiders familiar with the situation informed the publication that a conclusive decision has yet to be reached. Additionally, the report suggests that Zomato may choose not to move forward with the acquisition of the company.
Zomato and Shiprocket were unavailable for immediate comment regarding the ongoing developments.
Established in 2017 by Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati, Saahil Goel, and Gautam Kapoor, Shiprocket serves as an aggregator for third-party logistics companies and collaborates with various courier partners such as Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, and Shadowfax. In its Series E funding round, the startup secured $185 million, with co-leadership from Zomato, Temasek, and Lightrock India.
In August 2022, the startup successfully secured $33.5 million in a Series E2 funding round. The funding was spearheaded by Lightrock India and saw participation from Temasek, Bertelsmann, Moore Strategic Ventures, PayPal, and other investors. This funding round resulted in the company being valued at $1.2 billion.
In October this year, Shiprocket was reportedly in advanced talks to raise $10 million to $12 million from McKinsey & Company in a strategic funding round aimed at facilitating business expansion.
In October this year, Shiprocket reported a 3.6X widened net loss of INR 341 Cr in FY23, impacted by its multiple acquisitions. Specifically, the startup attributed the threefold increase in loss to its two acquisitions – Omuni for INR 200 Cr and one of its rivals, Pickrr, for $200 Mn in FY23.
Meanwhile, its operational revenue surged by 78% year-on-year, reaching INR 1,089 crore in FY23.
On the other hand, after grappling for a year, Zomato is currently witnessing a revival in its business. Attaining profitability in Q1 FY24 has notably propelled the company’s share performance to breach the INR 125 level for the first time in almost two years. Moreover, the company recorded a profit in the second quarter of FY24.
Continue Exploring: Zomato reports remarkable surge in profit, achieving second consecutive profitable quarter in FY24
Zomato’s shares are presently listed at INR 127.55 on the BSE, marking a year-to-date gain of more than 100%.