Delhivery aims for $4 bn valuation
MUMBAI: Delhivery is weighing a valuation of $4 billion for its proposed public listing in the March quarter, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
This would mark an increase of about a third from the $3 billion at which the company was valued last week in its latest fundraising round, underscoring the strong fillip to the logistics tech startup’s business during the pandemic.
Delhivery is likely to sell a 10-15% stake for $500-600 million through the planned initial public offering (IPO), the two people cited above said, requesting anonymity. They said the company could file its draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) either in July or August for the share sale.
Delhivery, which is heavily reliant on technology, unlike traditional shippers, is gaining from a surge in demand during the pandemic that has restricted human movement and involvement of middlemen in the logistics business.
The company earns as much as 65-70% of its revenue from e-commerce firms. “Delhivery’s valuation could go up by at least 25-30% till the time of the IPO launch since the company’s revenue is steadily rising and the books are flush with cash,” one of the two people cited above said, requesting anonymity.
A spokesperson for Delhivery declined to comment. A spokesperson for Multiples, which has a small stake in Delhivery, declined to comment.
Delhivery’s rivals include Fedex, Blue Dart, Ecom Express, Gati and Xpressbees.
The second person said the IPO could also see an offer for sale (OFS) by existing investors of Delhivery to provide an exit opportunity to some of its early investors. “Some of the earlystage investors, including Carlyle Group, Tiger Global, Multiples and Fosun, could consider a part-exit of holdings in Delhivery through the OFS (offer for sale) window during the IPO,” the second person said, adding the issue would be separate from the public issue.
On Monday, The Economic Times reported that Delhivery set up a board sub-committee for its IPO and mergers and acquisitions in January.
The company has $550 million in cash, the report said, citing co-founder and chief executive Sahil Barua.
Last week, the startup said in a regulatory filing that it raised $277 million in a round led by Boston-based investment firm Fidelity and joined by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Abu Dhabi’s Chimera, and UK’S Baillie Gifford.
The fundraising round valued Delhivery at $3 billion.