Gharpay sells cash collections business to Delhivery, pivoting to retail analytics

Gurgaon-based SSN Logistics Pvt Ltd, which specialises in e-commerce logistics services and runs the web platform Delhivery.com, has acquired cash collection services, brand name and the operations team (comprising over 60 people) of the Hyderabad-based startup Gharpay Technology Services Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

Sources told Techcircle.in that it is an all-cash deal and the existing VC investors of Gharpay will stay put with the firm.

Navneet Singh, vice president-strategy, Delhivery, said the acquisition will augment the firm's product portfolio. "Till now we were doing physical products' deliveries; this acquisition will enable us to enter the services sector," he said.

The deal was first reported by Iamwire.

Gharpay, a doorstep cash payment network for enterprises, claims to have a delivery network of more than 1,000 pincodes across the country. Its key clients include BookMyShow, Info Edge (India), Cleartrip, Zomato, Groupon and Jet Airways. Travel commerce is one of the biggest client segment of such a service and this acquisition will help Delhivery's foray into the sector.

Going forward, Delhivery will remain opportunistic about more acquisitions. "We will look at anything interesting that helps us increase our offerings. However, it is opportunity based and not a strategy to grow inorganically," said Mohit Tandon, co-founder, Delhivery.

Delhivery was co-founded in May 2011 by Tandon along with Amit Prakash Ambasta, Bhavesh Manglani Kapil Bharati, Sahil Barua and Suraj Saharan. Currently, it offers services such as end-mile delivery, third-party and transit warehousing, reverse logistics, payment collection as well as vendor-to-warehouse and vendor-to-customer shipping. It is backed by Times Internet Ltd, which acquired a minority stake in the firm in June last year.

Gharpay: What next?

The two co-founders of Gharpay, Abhishek Nayak and Arpit Mohan, are focussing on their next product, Clink under the existing firm.

Nayak said Clink—a technology-based B2B product—was taking up a lot of their time and effort which is why they decided to sell off the existing business to someone who could leverage it.

"It is a solution for retailers which will sit at the bank's server and analyse all the transactions. It will then help retailers target customers according to their buying pattern," Nayak explained.

He said they already have on board one bank and 30-40 retailers in the beta mode and will be formally launching the product in two-three months. Gharpay is backed by Sequoia Capital, Blume Ventures and Kae Capital besides angel investor Raju Reddy. Nayak said none of the investors has exited in the sell-off and that they will be part of the company in the new innings.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)