Trucking marketplace BlackBuck files for IPO; to raise Rs 550 Cr
BlackBuck plans to use the IPO proceeds for sales and marketing, injecting funds in its NBFC unit, and for product development.
Flipkart and Accel-backed truck operator has filed draft IPO papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise Rs 550 crore through a fresh issue of shares.
According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with SEBI and BSE, the float includes an offer for sale (OFS) of 21.6 million shares by existing shareholders. It expects to list its equity shares on BSE and NSE.
The company plans to use the majority of the funds, about Rs 200 crore, for sales and marketing. It will inject Rs 140 crore in its NBFC, BlackBuck Finserve, for financing the augmentation of its capital base to meet its future, and will use about Rs 75 crore for product development.
BlackBuck founders Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya, and Ramasubramanian Balasubramaniam will sell 2.2 million, 1.1 million, and 1.1 million shares, respectively in the offer for sale. Initial investor Accel, through its Accel India IV (Mauritius), will sell up to 4.3 million shares and another 923,282 shares through its Accel Growth Fund V L.P fund.
While World Bank-backed International Finance Corporation and IFC Emerging Asia Fund will sell 1.7 million and 628,315 shares, Quickroutes International will sell 3.9 million shares and VC fund Tiger Global Management will sell 883,322 shares. Other investors like Peak XV Partners and B Capital will sell 640,409 and 529,993 shares in the float.
BlackBuck also announced that the offer is being made through a book-building process, with about 75% of it is available for qualified institutional buyers, nearly 15% is marked out for non-institutional bidders, and about 10% is available for allocation to retail individuals. It plans to consider a Pre-IPO placement, which shall not exceed 20% of offering size. If the pre-IPO round is completed, then the size of fresh issue would be reduced.
Zinka Logistics, the company behind BlackBuck, processed a gross transaction value (GTV) of ₹17,396.19 crore in payments during fiscal year 2024. It boasts a fleet of 963,345 truck operators, which represents 27.52% of the country’s truck operators. Through its payments platform, the company partners with FASTag banks and multiple oil marketing companies (OMCs) to offer efficient and secure tolling and fueling solutions for truckers and also generates revenue through commission margins based on transaction values.
Zinka, founded in 2015, also provides telematics services for real-time visibility on fleet movements, route optimization, and enhanced fuel management along with a loads marketplace which is available within the app that helps truck operators find loads to fill their empty capacities or secure better prices. It also offers vehicle financing solutions and has facilitated 4,035 loans amounting to ₹196.79 crore during the year ended March 31, 2024. It derives revenue from loan service fees and other charges related to loan disbursal and collections.
Bengaluru-based BlackBuck, which allows truckers to book a load and move at capacity through its marketplace and enables shippers to have access to trucks, logged revenue of Rs 296.9 crore from continuing operations against a loss of Rs 166.9 crore in the fiscal year 2024.
In fiscal year 2023, it posted Rs 175.6 crore revenue with a loss of Rs 236.8 crore. The company logged EBITDA loss of Rs 138.7 crore in fiscal 2024, lower than EBITDA loss of Rs 213 crore it posted a year ago.
(The story has been updated to reflect some details from the company's press release.)
Edited by Megha Reddy