Exclusive: Udaan in talks to raise new round, valuation may drop significantly

Business-to-business e-commerce company Udaan is in talks to raise $200-250 million in an internal round, people aware of the development told Entrackr.

“Lightspeed and other internal investors have been contemplating to put $200-250 million equity capital in Udaan,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “The terms of the deal are being finalised and may get completed in a few weeks from now.”

The equity round comes after a gap of 30 months for the Bengaluru-based company which has majorly raised funds through debt and convertible notes for the past couple of years. Udaan scooped up $280 million in extended Series D round in Jan 2021 and separately raised more than $350 million in debt and convertible notes since then.

According to sources, Udaan has been trying hard to raise equity money for a while now. “Valuation is the key point of negotiation at the moment and Udaan may see a sharp haircut in its value in this round,” said another source who also wished not to be named. “It could be valued anywhere between $1 to $1.5 billion.”

The company was valued at over $3 billion in the last equity round. Moreover, the Bengaluru-based firm had also filed a valuation report in September 2019 in which Udaan valued itself at $7.5 billion.

To be sure, the funding discussions are early and its terms may change.

In response to Entrackr’s queries, both Udaan and Lightspeed said these details are “factually incorrect.”

On the lines of other unicorns, Udaan bled profusely since its inception. The company witnessed a 66.8% growth in its scale (gross revenue) to Rs 9,900 in FY22 from Rs 5,934 crore during the previous fiscal year (FY21). The firm’s losses crossed the Rs 3,000 crore mark during the period. Udaan is yet to file its audited financial numbers for the last fiscal ( FY23).

Last year, Udaan also fired around 500 employees across two phases. The company, however, indicated that these layoffs weren’t a sign of financial desperation, but rather due to an efficiency enhancement drive.