BackBigBasket acquires Delyver in cash-stock deal
BigBasket is likely to leverage Delyver's expertise in hyperlocal delivery to roll out one-hour delivery services in the six cities in which it is present
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Bengaluru: Online grocery store BigBasket has acquired hyperlocal delivery service provider Delyver in a cash and stocks deal, in a bid to strengthen its last-mile delivery network.
BigBasket is likely to leverage Delyver’s expertise in hyperlocal delivery to roll out one-hour delivery services in the six cities in which it is present—Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Pune and Mumbai.
The companies did not comment on the size of the deal.
BigBasket chief executive officer Hari Menon, however, confirmed that it was a cash and stock deal, with 50% of the amount being paid in cash.
While BigBasket is backed by serial entrepreneur K. Ganesh, Bengaluru-based Delyver had raised an undisclosed seed round from Ganesh and V. Sudhakar, one of the co-founders of BigBasket, in June 2012 before raising ₹ 6.5 crore in November last year from undisclosed investors. Delyver will continue to operate as a separate business while BigBasket will deploy its fleet of two-wheelers to facilitate timely delivery.
“Delyver has an expertise in two-wheeler delivery. They will handle the one-hour express delivery in the six cities and two-hour delivery in the 50 new cities," Menon said. “Though it is present only in Bengaluru now, Delyver will scale to the 50 cities as and when BigBasket enters a new market."
The Economic Times reported the development on Friday.
Delyver was founded in 2010 by IIM-Lucknow graduates Reebu Varghese, Afsal Salu and Praful Thachery. The firm specializes in delivering orders within one hour from stores across categories such as food, vegetables and flowers.
“The acquisition gives us access to capital and support from the BigBasket team. They are already in six cities, hence, for us to scale to these cities will take very little time. We already have infrastructure support there," said Delyver chief executive officer Reebu Varghese.
Delyver will continue with its existing categories instead of restricting itself to just grocery. “We will remain independent entities. We will support BigBasket in some of their initiatives and they will support us from a financial and strategic perspective. We may enter new areas or roll back some services down the line, but it is not decided yet," Varghese added.
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