Tata Motors on Thursday announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a 26.79% stake in Freight Commerce Solutions Private Limited (Freight Tiger) for a consideration of Rs 150 crore ($18 million). Separately, BharatAgri has raised $4.3 million in its Series A funding round led by Arkam Ventures.
Tata Motors picks 26.79% stake in Freight Tiger
Tata Motors on Thursday announced that it has signed a securities subscription agreement (SSA) and a shareholders agreement (SHA) for the acquisition of a 26.79% stake in Freight Commerce Solutions Private Limited (Freight Tiger) for a consideration of Rs 150 crore ($18 million).
The SSA also includes a provision enabling Tata Motors to further invest Rs 100 crore in Freight Tiger over the next two years, at the then prevailing market value, per a company statement.
“We believe that by playing a larger and deeper role in bringing all the stakeholders together to improve road logistics efficiency, we can create value for our core customers: the fleet owners. Their (Freight Tiger’s) vision is aligned with ours, as we strive to improve the efficiency and sustainability of road logistics. Together, we will create new opportunities for growth and value creation for our customers, partners and stakeholders,” said Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors.
Freight Tiger is a digital platform that provides end-to-end logistics value chain solutions for cargo movement in the country. The platform connects shippers, carriers, logistics service providers and fleet owners to a single digital marketplace, making it easy to find, book and manage freight.
The startup offers Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to digitize and streamline logistics interactions such as freight tracking, assignment, carrier matching, documentation, and payment processing. It claims to facilitate more than 10 million trips on an annualised basis.
BharatAgri raises $4.3m in Series A
BharatAgri, an advisory-led e-commerce platform for farmers, has raised $4.3 million (Rs 35 crore) in its Series A funding round led by Arkam Ventures, per an announcement.
The financing also saw the participation of Capria Ventures and existing investors, India Quotient, 021 Capital, and Omnivore. Following the investment, Rahul Chandra, MD of Arkam Ventures, will join the board of BharatAgri.
The funds will be used to scale BharatAgri’s e-commerce platform into new geographies and strengthen its last-mile delivery, the company said in a statement.
Founded by Siddharth Dialani and Sai Gole, BharatAgri uses smart farming advisory for farmers to identify and order the input products specific to their farming needs. The company has built prediction algorithms that provide advisory customised to crops, regions, and climatic changes.