Thailand-based express delivery company Flash Express, the country’s first unicorn, has closed 15 billion baht ($447 million) in Series F fundraising from an undisclosed investor in December, according to local newspaper Prachachat.
The fresh capital will be retained for operations over the next 2-3 years with focus on warehouse renovation projects in a joint venture with local homebuilder SC Asset, according to Komsan Lee, CEO & founder of Flash Group, in an interview with Prachachat.
Flash Express, which is now valued at 70 billion thb ($2 billion), recorded 17 billion baht ($524 million) in total revenue and 5 billion baht ($168 million) in profit (loss) before income tax, per data available on the Department of Business and Development’s website.
A Flash spokesperson declined to comment.
In September last year, Flash Express was reported to be in talks with Blackstone-backed private equity giant PAG for a $1-million debt financing, according to several industry sources. Flash and PAG declined to comment on a query sent by DealStreetAsia at the time.
Earlier in June, Flash Express was crowned as Thailand’s first unicorn following its Series D+ and Series E funding rounds, which raised a combined $150 million led by SCB10X, the tech-focused venture capital arm of Siam Commercial bank; and Chinese venture capital company Buer Capital, respectively.
The express delivery company accounted for 15% of Thailand’s parcel delivery market share, which is the third largest after government-owned Thailand Post and SET-listed Kerry Express, according to data compiled by Siam Commercial Bank’s Economic Intelligence Center in 2020.
Flash Express recently expanded its footprint into Southeast Asia with new headquarters in the Philippines, Laos, and Malaysia in 2022.