Delhivery To Acquire Ecom Express For Rs 1,407 Crore

In a major consolidation move within India’s logistics sector, Delhivery has announced plans to acquire rival company Ecom Express Limited for a consideration of up to Rs 1,407 crore. The development was confirmed through a regulatory filing by Delhivery on Saturday.

According to the company, its board has given the green light for executing a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) involving Ecom Express and its shareholders. Once the transaction is finalised, Ecom Express will become a subsidiary of Delhivery, reported Moneycontrol.

"The Board has approved the execution of Share Purchase Agreement amongst the Company, the Target Company (Ecom Express) and their shareholders and execution of other necessary documents regarding the aforementioned acquisition (“Transaction Documents”). Post completion of such acquisition, Ecom will become a subsidiary of the Company," the company stated.

The deal is expected to close within six months from the execution of the SPA, though the timeline may be extended subject to mutual agreement between the parties.

Delhivery Raises Concerns Over Ecom Express' Data Reporting

The acquisition follows a contentious backdrop involving allegations made by Delhivery regarding data discrepancies in Ecom Express’ public disclosures. In its regulatory note, Delhivery claimed that Ecom Express misrepresented key operational metrics—including shipment volumes, profitability, and logistical capacity—in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed in September last year.

The crux of the discrepancy lies in how both companies account for returned shipments. Delhivery counts a parcel that is returned to origin as a single shipment. In contrast, Ecom Express logs such movements as two separate shipments—one for the initial delivery attempt and another for the return.

Delhivery noted, “Per shipment metrics hugely vary depending on shipment profile – weight profile for Delhivery and peer will be significantly different due to different client mix. Peer has Top customer concentration of 52 per cent of revenue (vs. 16 per cent for Delhivery) resulting in Delhivery’s average weight per parcel being ~2x of the peer.”

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Industry Implications and Market Dynamics

Further elaborating on shipment calculations, Delhivery said that when factoring in the industry norm of 14–18 per cent of deliveries being returned, Ecom Express' adjusted shipment count would be closer to 450 million.

The company also emphasised that drawing direct comparisons between their logistics metrics and those of Ecom Express may not be appropriate due to differences in customer bases and package weight profiles.

“It is incorrect to compare any two shipments of the two companies as their customer mix and hence their average weight of shipments are different,” Delhivery stated.

As the acquisition moves toward closure, the transaction is likely to alter competitive dynamics in the logistics industry, positioning Delhivery with a broader footprint and enhanced operational capacity.

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