Unicommerce to take on Shiprocket with acquisition of Shipway

E-commerce enablement SaaS platform Unicommerce has announced the acquisition of Shipway, a Gurugram-based e-commerce technology platform. With this, the SoftBank-backed company will take on Shiprocket.

While Shiprocket dominates the space, Shipway managed significant growth in the past few years and now expanded its horizon with Shipway Xperience and SMS-WhatsApp marketing tool The Convert Way.

In the first tranche of the deal, Unicommerce is acquiring a 42.76% stake in Shipway for a cash consideration of Rs 68.4 crore ($8.14 million). The firm will acquire the remaining stake within a year through a merger or stock swap, as per its press release

The deal roughly values IndiaMart-backed Shipway at around Rs 160 crore ($19 million).

The acquisition will enable Unicommerce to cross sell courier aggregation and shipping automation services to its 4,000 clients. At the same time, Unicommerce will have a new set of clients from Shipway’s 3,000 partners.

The Shipway team will continue to grow the Shipway and ConvertWay businesses. Its key partners include Durex, Lenskart, Juicy Chemistry, Tresmode, Dot & Key, Amante, Libas, and Sennheiser, the release added.

Unicommerce collaborates with India’s leading brands, marketplaces, and logistics providers to enable end-to-end management of e-commerce operations. Beyond India, it also has a presence in the Middle East and SEA.

Unicommerce, which went public in August this year, reported revenue of Rs 29.3 crore in Q2 FY25, with a profit after tax of Rs 4.4 crore.

The deal is likely to impact Zomato-funded Shiprocket, which has dominated the courier aggregation space for the past six to seven years. While some similar products were launched, they never matched the firepower (funding) that Shiprocket has enjoyed. With Unicommerce backing, Shipway now has access to capital and resources to fight the Delhi-based unicorn. Going forward, it will be exciting to see how this new chapter unfolds for both companies: Unicommerce and Shiprocket.