B2B e-commerce unicorn Udaan has raised $250 Mn in a fresh funding round, according to reports. The latest round is a mix of convertible note and debt funding, with $200 Mn fund funded through convertible debt and the rest $50 Mn funded through pure debt instrument. Interestingly, in the same month last year the Bengaluru based startup had raised $280 Mn at a valuation of over $3 Bn.
The fresh round has brought five new marque investors at Udaan’s cap table while existing investors also participated in the round. But the names of the new and existing investors could not be ascertained at the time of filing this story.
For all those who are not aware, convertible debt is an instrument that gets converted into equity at an IPO stage. This fact strongly indicates that the Bengaluru based startup is strongly vying for an IPO in the near future. The same has been explicitly mentioned in the company’s internal mail that has been accessed by several news portal.
India’s B2B commerce market remains highly unorganized but experts claim that there is enough headroom for growth. Not surprisingly, the B2B e-commerce space is witnessing intense competition, especially with the entry of Walmart backed Flipkart and Reliance Jio retail.
For Udaan the latest funding round will certainly help the company in building its war chest and off setting the competition.
Udaan essentially helps in bringing retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers all under one platform. The platform not only facilitates small retailers and manufacturers in buying products in different categories but also accessing working capital.
Back in 2018, Udaan became the talk of the town after it became India’s youngest unicorn. The company held this unique title until last year when blue collar platform Apna became the new youngest unicorn of India.
