Competition Commission Clears MUFG Bank And Koch Group's Stake Buy In Zomato-Backed Shiprocket
Shiprocket, a logistics platform backed by Zomato, reported a 21% revenue growth in FY24, with strategic plans for cross-border expansion and profitability.
The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday approved Japan's MUFG Bank and US-based Koch Group's acquisition of minority shareholding in the e-commerce shipping platform Shiprocket Pvt., backed by Zomato Ltd.
KDT Venture Holdings LLC, an affiliate of American conglomerate Koch, Inc., is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in startups in the healthcare, supply chain and manufacturing, cybersecurity, semiconductors, connectivity, fintech, enterprise software, and energy transformation sectors. Koch is led by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.
MUFG Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) and is engaged in banking services in India.
Shiprocket operates a logistics platform to provide services to other businesses domestically and internationally.
The CCI did not disclose the details of value and shareholding percentage of the acquisitions.
Shiprocket registered a 21% year-on-year revenue growth at Rs 1,316 crore for fiscal 2024. While losses for the fiscal widened to Rs 595 crore from Rs 340 crore in the previous fiscal. The company aims to start clocking profits in the current financial year.
The company said that it has reduced its cash Ebitda burn by 50% from Rs 191 crore in fiscal 2023 to Rs 100 crore in fiscal 2024. The company also stated that the first two quarters of the financial year, which ends in September 2024, showed a decrease of 50%.
Shiprocket made five acquisitions in 2022: Wigzo, Glaucus, Arvind Internet's Omuni, Rocketbox, and Pickrr. Shiprocket turned unicorn in August 2022, after a $33.5 million fundraise at a valuation of over $1 billion. Temasek and Lightrock were among the investors.
Moving forward, Shiprocket’s strategic focus will be on expanding key emerging areas, including cross-border enablement for brands, Shiprocket Quick, Shiprocket Checkout, and Shiprocket Capital, to continue driving innovation and growth across its platform, the company said.
In 2021, Zomato picked an 8% stake in the logistics tech firm for about $75 million (Rs 557 crore).
