Transaction:

  • Retail unit of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL), has acquired 54% stake in Addverb Technologies for $132 million (Rs.983 Crore approx.)
  • The investment round values the company at around Rs.2000 Crore. The cofounders together hold around 24-25% stake in the company after this deal and remaining stake is held by early investors.

Addverb Technologies:

  • Addverb is a global robotics company based out of India. It is a startup that provides intra-logistics automation solutions. It builds robotics and automation solutions for factories and warehouses. It automates the laborious tasks related to storage and movement of goods in controlled environments.
  • Company was founded by former Asian Paint executives. Its clients include companies like Amazon, Flipkart, ITC, Coca-Cola and Jio Mart.
  • Its manufacturing facility in Noida has the capacity to make 50,000 different types of robots a year and currently produces around 10,000 robots per annum. Addverb has four subsidiaries located in Singapore, the Netherland, the US and Australia.

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.:

  • RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, is the holding company of Reliance Retail Limited which operates the retail business. RRVL, incorporated in 2006, is a closely-held investment arm of RIL for the group’s retail business.
  • Reliance Retail operates a wide array of store formats which cater to planned shopping needs as well as daily or occasional needs of the customers across major consumption baskets of Grocery, Consumer Electronics and Fashion & Lifestyle.

Rationale:

  • With this investment Addverb will be able to accelerate its expansion in Europe and US and will be able to set up the biggest robotic manufacturing facility at a single location. The company plans to start an innovation lab with bases in Europe, US and India.
  • Both companies also have a plan to collaborate on building 5G robotics and battery systems and harnessing carbon fiber to build affordable, advanced robots.
  • Sangeet Kumar, Addverb Technologies co-founder and CEO commented that at present, 80% of company’s revenue comes from India but this mix is expected to change to 50-50 between India and overseas business in the next 4-5 years.
  • He added that each of the subsidiaries of Addverb will expand in terms of workforce. The manufacturing will happen in India, and overseas subsidiary will help in designing the robots.
  • Addverb has raised $143 million in all till date including this deal. It had previously raised $11 million in funding led by Jalaj Dani, co-promoter of Asian Paints.
  • Robotics is a diverse sector with significant upside potential. A BCG report of 2021 estimates global robotic market to be of $25 billion in 2020 and expects it to reach between $160 billion to $260 billion by year 2030 due to automation, social trends and artificial intelligence, machine learning & other technological advances.
  • Robotics industry has more than 500 companies globally making products in four primary categories: conventional industrial robots and cobots, stationary professional services (like with medical and agricultural applications), mobile professional services (such as professional cleaning, construction, and underwater activities) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for transporting large and small loads in logistics or assembly lines.

Acknowledgements: 

RBI Bulletin (www.bulletin.rbi.org.in), SEBI (www.sebi.gov.in), NSE (www.nseindia.com), BSE (www.bseindia.com)

Disclaimer:

This material has been prepared by the personnel in Vora Corporate Finance which is Investment Banking arm of Vora Management Consultancy Private Limited and looks after Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Private Equity (PE), Fund Raising, Debt syndication and Valuations and is based out of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Any views or opinions expressed herein are solely that of individual authors and may differ from view of Vora Management Consultancy Private Limited. This material is proprietary to Vora Management Consultancy Private Limited and is for your personal use only. Any distribution, copy, reprints or forward to others is strictly prohibited.

This material captures the information based on information available in the public domain, public announcements and sources believed to be reliable. Analysis contained herein is based on publicly available information and appropriate assumptions. This material is intended merely to highlight market developments and is not intended to be comprehensive and does not constitute strategic, investment, legal or tax advice. In no event Vora Management Consultancy Private Limited be liable for any use by any party or for any decision made or action taken by any party in reliance upon, or for any inaccuracies or errors in, or omissions from, the information contained herein and such information may not be relied upon by you for evaluating any transaction. 

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