Warburg Pincus & Partners Group-backed Ecom Express picks 4 I-banks for 2022 IPO

Gurugram-based Ecom Express, a logistics and warehousing solutions provider for the e-commerce industry that is backed by private equity firms Warburg Pincus and the Partners Group, has shortlisted four investment banks for its proposed initial public offering ( IPO) due to be launched in 2022, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol.

"They have recently picked Axis Capital which is the left lead i-bank along with JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and JM Financial for their IPO plans," one of the persons cited above told Moneycontrol adding that the quantum of the IPO had not been finalized yet and would be decided based on discussions with selling shareholders. A recent report by VCCircle said the firm was eyeing a listing at a valuation above $2 billion.

The move by Ecom Express comes on the back of rival Delhivery gearing up to file its draft red herring prospectus with Sebi.

On June 28, 2021, Moneycontrol was the first to report that Softbank backed Delhivery was  in advanced discussions to acquire a controlling stake in Bengaluru-based rival express logistics player Spoton Logistics, a deal which was officially announced later.

A second person told Moneycontrol that Ecom Express has attained the size and scale for a public listing and that the IPO was likely to be a combination of primary and secondary issue of shares. Typically, in such scenarios, existing investors opt for either partial or complete exits. Warburg Pincus and Partners Group are the key investors in the firm.

"As of now, the plan is to file draft papers with Sebi either in December or early 2022. The kick off for the IPO has taken place," said a third person familiar with the listing deliberations of Ecom Express.

All the three persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

JP Morgan and Credit Suisse declined to comment in response to an email query from Moneycontrol. We are awaiting responses from Ecom Express, Axis Capital and JM Financial and have sent reminders earlier. This article will be updated as soon as we hear from them.

Other than Delhivery, Ecom Express, an online logistics firm, also competes with the likes of Xpressbees and traditional players like  Gati, FedEx &  Blue Dart.

MORE ABOUT ECOM EXPRESS

Ecom Express was incorporated in 2012 by T. A. Krishnan, Manju Dhawan, K. Satyanarayana and Late Sanjeev Saxena w​ho boast of a combined experience of more than 100 years​ in the Indian logistics and distribution industry.

​It's​ products include Ecom Express Services (EXS), Ecom Fulfilment Services (EFS) and Ecom Digital Services (EDS).

​According to its website, ​Ecom Express has its presence in all 29 states of the country and operates in over 2650+ towns across 27,000+ PIN-codes in India. The company​ claims that it​ is the first private logistics company in India to envision a full-state coverage strategy, i.e., the capability to reach every doorstep in every city, town and village in a state. This full-state coverage is offered in 25 states​ via which​ the company​ says it has ​the​ capability to deliver to over 1.2 billion people, i.e., 95%+ of India’s population.

Ecom Express marked its maiden venture outside the country in early 2021 with its investment in Paperfly, Bangladesh’s largest third-party e-commerce logistics (3PL) firm.

Recently, the firm announced that it had expanded its total hub and processing area to over 2.8 million sq. ft. across all major centres in India to enable total processing capacity of over 3 million parcels per day ahead of the festive season.