Excl: Multiples PE in talks to invest $26.1M in e-com logistics firm Delhivery

Renuka Ramnath-led private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management is in advanced discussions to invest Rs 160 crore ($26.1 million) in e-commerce logistics services company SSN Logistics Pvt Ltd which runs the portal Delhivery, sources close to the development told VCCircle.

An e-mail sent to Ramnath did not elicit any response. According to prior media reports, the e-commerce firm was also in talks with PE firm Warburg Pincus for investment in the company. This will be Delhivery's third round of equity funding. In September last year, it raised about Rs 35 crore from Nexus Venture Partners, having raised an undisclosed sum from Times Internet Limited earlier in 2012.

The funds will mostly be used for expansion. Delhivery has presence in 150 cities and trades 51,000 products every day. This year, the firm expanded its presence across the Middle East and South Asia.

Delhivery was formed in 2011 as an express logistics services firm in Delhi by five co-founders—Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, Suraj Saharan, Bhavesh Manglani and Kapil Bharati.

E-commerce firms have been attracting investors for quite some time. Last month, investors' top pick in e-commerce, Flipkart raised $1 billion from existing investors Tiger Global, Naspers and sovereign fund Government of Singapore Investment Corp. The fundraising valued the company at nearly $7 billion. VCCircle recently reported that Delhi-based Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd which runs the online marketplace Snapdeal is also looking to raise $300 million from private equity investors.

Another Delhi-based logistics provider for ecommerce portals, Reverse Logistics Company Pvt Ltd that operates under the brand GreenDust, is in talks to raise $50 million in its second round of funding from investors. GreenDust is an e-commerce platform for refurbished goods.

Recently, Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata said that e-commerce is one of the areas where he is looking to personally invest because of its "good potential."

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)