udaan Secures USD 340 Million Funding Led by M&G Plc

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) B2B e-commerce platform udaan on Thursday said it has raised USD 340 million (about Rs 2,822 crore) in a funding round led by M&G Plc.

Existing equity investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global also participated in the round.

With this, udaan said its business is fully funded and on course to achieve its objective of becoming profitable in the next 12-18 months.

The funding, which included a combination of fresh equity investment as well as the conversion of existing debt (convertible notes) into equity, will strengthen the balance sheet, udaan said in a release.

"udaan, India's largest eB2B platform, today announced a USD 340 million Series E financing. The funding round, led by M&G Plc, including participation from existing equity investors - Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global - is subject to regulatory approvals," it said.

udaan said it plans to use the funds to strengthen customer experience, market penetration, strategic vendor partnerships, and to reinforce long-term capabilities of supply-chain and credit, with the "objective of building a sustainable business serving the needs of millions of shopkeepers/ kiranas across the country".

"Over the past two years, udaan has achieved a consistent progress on its sustainability agenda with eight consecutive quarters of improving profitability," the release said.

The feat, it said, was driven by successful interventions on its business strategy and business model while chasing ‘efficiency with excellence' agenda.

Over the last 12 months, udaan has seen strong and steady validation of its multi-category cluster-anchored business strategy, according to the release.

"The company is now reinforcing it with a regional cluster-led operating organisation that enables strong execution capabilities, while promoting ownership and accountability at the regional level, to drive sustainable growth," it said.

Vaibhav Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, udaan said that the funding round strengthens balance sheet and fully funds the business plan.

"It enables our continued journey of growth and profitability, positioning us well to be public-market ready in the next 12-18 months. The regional-operated design will not only get us closer to our customers, but also make our operations more agile and efficient," Gupta said.