CCI approves Kedaara Capital's stake acquisition in logistics unicorn Porter

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Kedaara Capital’s proposal to acquire a stake in hyperlocal logistics startup Porter.

The antitrust watchdog said it had cleared the joint acquisition of shares in SmartShift Logistics Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Porter’s parent firm, by two investment vehicles affiliated with Kedaara—Kedaara Sapphire Holding and Kedaara Capital Fund IV AIF.

The regulatory green light comes on the heels of Porter’s $200 million Series F funding round, closed in May and co-led by Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management. The round also included continued participation from Vitruvian Partners and entailed both primary capital infusion and secondary share sales by early backers such as Peak XV Partners and Kae Capital.

The deal valued the startup at approximately $1.2 billion, making Porter the third Indian logistics unicorn of the year, after Netradyne and Juspay.

Founded in 2014 by Pranav Goel, Vikas Chaudhary and Uttam Digga, Porter provides intra-city logistics and last-mile delivery services across India. Its digital freight network caters to both businesses and individual consumers, integrating real-time tracking, distance-based pricing, proactive notifications and support tools for its driver partners.

Porter competes with players such as Shadowfax, Delhivery, Rapido, Uber and Pidge in India’s hyperlocal and short-haul logistics sector. It has raised roughly $132 million to date from investors including Tiger Global, Peak XV, Lightrock and Kae Capital.

On the financial front, Porter reported a significant narrowing of its net loss in FY24. The company reduced its loss by 45% to Rs 95.7 crore, down from Rs 174.6 crore in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, operating revenue jumped 56% year-on-year to Rs 2,733.7 crore in FY24, up from Rs 1,737.4 crore in FY23.