Logistics Unicorn Xpressbees Acquired Trackon Courier Firm

To join the SME courier market, logistics startup Xpressbees acquired Trackon, the New Delhi-based courier company, in an all-cash deal.

The agreement would enable Trackon to expand nationally by utilizing the XpressBees network. Serving about 5,000 pin codes, Trackon has mostly targeted the country’s northern and western regions. There are 15,000 pin numbers where Xpressbees is available.

The CEO of Xpressbees, Amitava Saha, stated, “We will expand Trackon using our network and also look at cross-selling our existing services through the franchise network of Trackon. I am convinced that it will strengthen our respective businesses, improve the customer experience, and allow us to create meaningful synergies between the two organizations”, Saha continued.

As part of the agreement, Prabhat Kumar Anand, Trackon’s founder and CMD, will stay on as CEO for at least the next two years. As part of the acquisition, cofounders Pramod Kumar Singh, Dinesh Rautela, and Yoginder Kumar Dabas will depart.

“Our cooperation with Xpressbees allows us to grow our company and reach a huge audience. We will be able to offer our current clients more services while still providing best-in-class services by fusing our expertise with Xpressbees’ capabilities”, according to Anand.

The deal occurs as the massive logistics company considers a potential $100 Mn cash infusion from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, a company based in Canada. The company is considering purchasing a stake in the startup, which is valued at $1.4 billion.

The valuation is a little higher than what Xpreesbees demanded when it raised $300 Mn in its Series F round, which was led by private equity firms Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, and Chrys Capital, and allowed it to join the exclusive unicorn club in January 2022. The large logistics company has valued the funds at $1.2 Billion.

Through a secondary sale, the Pune-based logistics startup earned $40 million from Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad in April.

Xpressbees, a 2015 spin-off company from FirstCry, a significant player in the kids e-commerce market, provides B2B, B2C, and cross-border transportation services. More than 20,000 Indian postcodes are served by Xpressbees, which has more than 100 hubs and a 3 million square foot warehouse.

By providing its customers with logistics, warehousing, and delivery services, Xpressbees makes money. Along with cross-border logistics and 3PL services, it provides both B2C and B2B delivery. Among others, Flipkart, Meesho, Snapdeal, and Mi are a few of its most important customers. 

The startup’s operating revenue increased 1.8X to INR 1,904.4 Cr in FY22 from INR 1,010.1 Cr in FY21, while its net loss decreased by nearly 57% to INR 27.1 Cr from INR 63.4 Cr in FY21.