KUALA LUMPUR (April 28): Khazanah Nasional Bhd has invested US$40 million (RM178.41 million) in Mumbai-based logistics provider Xpressbees via the purchase of secondary shares from an early investor in the company.

A spokesperson from the sovereign wealth fund confirmed the investment when contacted by The Edge.

Online India-based news portal Mint reported earlier Friday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, that venture capital firm Elevation Capital has sold a 4% stake in Xpressbees to Khazanah in a deal that valued Xpressbees at US$1.2 billion pre-money.

According to the portal, Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, ChrysCapital, Alibaba Group, Investcorp, Norwest Venture Partners, Gaja Capital as well as Elevation Capital were among Xpressbees existing set of investors.

“There is a huge opportunity for tech-led disruption in logistics. We have established a leading brand but are still early in our growth story. We continue on our path to become a dominant end-to-end logistics player and look to leverage any strategic opportunities.

“Khazanah’s disciplined long-term investment approach makes the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund a perfect partner for us in this journey," Xpressbees founder and chief executive officer Amitava Saha was quoted as saying by Mint.

In February 2022, the company raised US$300 million in primary capital in a round led by private equity funds Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth and ChrysCapital, valuing it at US$1.1 billion.

Founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneurs Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari, Xpressbees is an e-commerce focused end-to-end supply chain solutions provider that is present across 5,000 cities today, serving over 20,000 pin codes, and delivering over 2 million packages per day.

The company also has over 100 hubs across India, with more than 3 million sq ft of warehouse capacity, and operates across 52 airports in the country.