Jumbotail acquires Solv to expand B2B e-commerce reach

File photo.

Jumbotail, the B2B platform that connects mom-and-pop stores to suppliers, has acquired Solv, the B2B e-commerce marketplace, the two companies said in a joint statement on March 26.

Moneycontrol had exclusively reported about the transaction on February 12 and the deal was valued at around $50 million, as per sources.

The deal, which awaits an approval from Competition Commission of India (CCI), will help Jumbotail and Solv to combine and become a multi-category B2B ecommerce platform that supports commerce, fintech and other needs of small retailers (kiranas) and other micro, small and medium enterprise (MSMEs).

“Jumbotail’s strength across the entire food and grocery value chain, and Solv India’s differentiated capabilities in apparel, home furnishing, footwear and toys is a unique combination with immense potential,” said Ashish Jhina, co-founder and COO of Jumbotail.

As part of the deal, Solv CEO Amit Bansal will exit the company, as reported earlier. Bansal, however, denied that he is leaving the company.

The combined entity will be led by S. Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, Co-Founders of Jumbotail. Gautam Jain will join the board of Jumbotail, representing SC Ventures, the press statement said.

o3 Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Trilegal acted as transaction counsel, for SC Ventures, in this transaction.

“This is a great example of why we, at SC Ventures, believe in the transformational power of business model innovation driving financial inclusion and lifting participation of this underserved sector,” said Gautam Jain, Chairman of Board, Solv India and Operating Member, SC Ventures.

Between the two companies, Jumbotail is the larger player in revenue terms. In FY23, the latest available comparable data, Jumbotail had a revenue of Rs 850 crore and incurred losses worth Rs 264 crore, as per Tracxn, a private markets data provider.

Solv, on the other hand, had revenues of Rs 88 crore but its losses stood at Rs 267 crore, significantly higher on a relative basis.

Jumbotail has also raised more money and is more valuable than Solv.

While Solv has raised $40 million (around Rs 340 crore) from Standard Chartered’s venture capital arm and others, Jumbotail has secured over $150 million (about Rs 1,275 crore) from Nexus Venture Partners and others, data showed.