Xpressbees raises $80 million from arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
- The fundraise comes six months after Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad invested $40 million in the Pune startup
Logistics unicorn Xpressbees said on Tuesday it has raised $80 million (around ₹665 crore) from Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). The firm said it would use the fresh capital to drive growth and support its management team's ambitions.
“We believe the logistics sector is at the cusp of technological disruption and this is the right time to expand service offerings to address the growing needs of businesses and consumers,” said Amitava Saha, founder and chief executive officer at Xpressbees. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor on this transaction.
The fundraise comes six months after Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad invested $40 million (around ₹320 crore) in the Pune startup.
OTPP, which manages assets worth $250 billion, has been increasing its investments in Indian companies rapidly over the past year, joining its larger peers in doing so. VCCircle reported last week that the Canadian pension fund had received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to invest in Xpressbees.
The latest investment is its first commitment from TVG, which focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in technology companies. TVG will acquire a minority stake in Xpressbees, joining the likes of TPG Growth, Blackstone ChrysCapital, Khazanah Nasional Berhard, Alibaba Group, Elevation Capital, Investcorp, Norwest Venture Partners and Gaja Capital.
“Xpressbees aligns with our TVG thesis for Asia,” said Kelvin Yu, senior managing director, TVG. "India is a critical market for our TVG Asia strategy, where we look to lead or co-lead rounds, and Xpressbees is a culmination of one such proprietary opportunity.”
Xpressbees, founded in 2015 by Saha and Supam Maheshwari, is a logistics company that caters to sectors such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods, retail, manufacturing, electronics, and consumer durables. It said its network covers more than 20,000 pin codes across India.
Xpressbees was valued at about $1.4 billion in April 2022, a 16% markup from its previous round in February 2022. In August 2022, late-stage investor Avendus Future Leaders Fund acquired a stake in the company from Elevation Capital for ₹195 crore.
The company became a unicorn in February 2022 when it bagged $300 million in Series F funding led by Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth and ChrysCapital at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
MoreLess
First Published:7 Nov 2023, 05:42 PM IST
- Top Gainers
- Top Losers
- 52 Week High