In its biggest move to reconfigure India’s logistics industry, Delhivery acquired Ecom Express for ₹1,407 crore, one of the largest consolidation deals in the industry.
Ecom Express, which was one of the e-commerce delivery industry’s rising stars, has witnessed growing financial pressure in recent two years. Its IPO, set to raise capital, didn’t get off the ground, forcing the company to retrench. As its losses reduce from ₹428 crore in FY23 to ₹255 crore in FY24, the company’s fortunes seemed to mend, but not sufficiently to survive independently in an extremely competitive industry.
Sources further state that Ecom Express had let go of more than 10% of its employees in recent months as part of its cost-cutting exercise. In contrast, Delhivery, which listed in 2022, is aiming to consolidate its position in the B2C and express delivery space—very much Ecom Express’s stronghold and partner to platforms such as Meesho and FirstCry.
The deal is expected to bring operational synergies and enable Delhivery to penetrate tier-2 and tier-3 markets more forcefully. It is also an indicator of larger consolidation in Indian logistics as margins compress and only those players who have sufficient funds can remain competitive.
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