Logistics Startup Ecom Express Gears Up for A ₹2,600 crore IPO, Files DRHP With SEBI

Today, August 16, logistics company Ecom Express filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), just two days after gaining board approval to launch its initial public offering (IPO).

With the public offering, which will consist of a new issuance of INR 1,284.5 Cr and an offer for sale component of INR 1,315.5 Cr, the business hopes to raise INR 2,600 Cr.

The company plans to file its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) after raising INR 256.9 Cr through a pre-IPO placement.

Related: Leading Logistics Company Blue Dart Names Dipanjan Banerjee As Its New Chief Commercial Officer

The startup plans to invest INR 387.44 Cr in new processing centers with automation and new fulfillment machinery, INR 73.71 Cr in IT equipment, and INR 239.23 Cr in strengthening its cloud infrastructure using the proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO).

Additionally, the new funds will be used for general corporate reasons as well as to pay back loans of INR 87.19 Cr that the company had previously taken out.

Promoters Kotla Sridevi, Kotla Rathnanjali, Manju Dhawan, and cofounder Kotla Satyanarayana are selling shares valued INR 33.8 Lakh, INR 8.98 Cr, INR 7.62 Cr, and INR 1.02 Cr, respectively, as part of the OFS component.

The promoters of Ecom Express, PG Esmeralda and Eaglebay Investment of Warburg Pincus Investments, would be selling shares valued at INR 931.39 Cr and INR 211.48 Cr, respectively.

British International Investment (BII), in addition to the investor, will sell shares valued at INR 136.97 Cr. In the IPO, Jayanti Krishnan, Rabeya Saxena, and Saheba Saxena are among the other investors who will be selling their shares.

The company will list its shares on the NSE and the BSE after getting the go-ahead from the market authorities.

The startup also disclosed its financial results for the fiscal year 2023–24 (FY24) in its DRHP. The company was able to reduce its losses from INR 428.13 Cr in the previous fiscal year to INR 255.87 Cr in the current fiscal year. This represents a 67% reduction in losses.

Its operational revenue was INR 2,609.16 Cr at the time, 2% more than the INR 2,553.93 Cr it collected in the previous fiscal year. Its expenses increased somewhat throughout the fiscal year as well, rising from INR 2,902.83 Cr in FY23 to INR 2,921.55 Cr in FY24, an increase of 0.6% year over year.

This is the second listing attempt for the logistics startup. A final INR 4,860 Cr IPO was completed by the logistics company in February 2022. Nevertheless, due to pessimistic market sentiments, it abandoned such intentions later that year.

It is worth mentioning that the firm is making its second try at listing during a period when domestic companies are flocking to the stock exchanges. Additionally, construction material procurement platform ArisInfra Solutions and coworking company Smartworks submitted their IPO papers with the SEBI earlier today. In addition, other startups waiting for the market regulator to authorize their initial public offerings (IPOs) include BlackBuck and Avanse Financial Services.