A consortium of investors led by the Mumbai-based investment firm Samara Capital and Xponentia Fund Partners has acquired Bengaluru-based express logistics startup Spoton for ₹550 crores in cash.
With the acquisition, the private equity firm India Equity Partners has completely exited the startup.
This acquisition is speculated to be a part of Samara’s plan to ally with Amazon and Goldman Sachs to try to acquire More, India’s fourth-largest supermarket operator. The acquisition of Spoton will help Samara create a retail ecosystem to support its plans.
Founded in 2011, Spoton Logistics provides logistics solutions to industries such as hi-tech, automotive, engineering, pharmaceutical, electronics and electrical, and lifestyle and retail.
The startup has around 4,000 clients including Reliance, Bosch, along with e-commerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon.
Talking about the investment, Abhik Mitra, MD and CEO, Spoton Logistics, said, “We are delighted to have the new investor group on board in the next phase of our journey towards excellence and leadership. Their support for strong management teams to run the company, whilst playing a key role as a value-added partner focused on business strategy, internal controls, governance, financial management, and identifying and supporting growth opportunities, through business alliances and or M&A, will bring rich rewards to all.”
The logistics startup is planning to add air express cargo by March/April next year, along with tapping into the potential opportunity in the 3PL space. It is expecting the new air express cargo vertical to boost its annualised revenues from the current ₹600 crores to ₹1,500 crores in the coming five years.
Samara Capital is a Mumbai-based private equity firm founded by Gautam Gode and Sumeet Narang in 2006. The firm is primarily focused on emerging Indian startups in the domains including fintech, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, consumer products and IT.
The firm has already raised two funds worth about $700 million, since its launch. It is also planning to close its third fund worth $550 million by the end of this year.