Agritech startup DeHaat, which counts Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia) and Sofina Ventures as its marquee investors, has acquired the fruit export business of Ahmedabad-based listed fruit export firm Freshtrop Fruits in an all-cash deal. The financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.
Under the deal, DeHaat has absorbed Freshtrop’s export network and grading, packing and precooling centres, and manpower, including the top leadership team, into its ecosystem, it said in a statement.
Founded in 1992 by Ashok Motiani and his family, Frestrop exports grapes and other fruits, including pomegranate and mango, from India to countries including the UK and the ones that fall under the European Union, among others.
Over the last 25 years, the company claims to have continuously invested in innovative technology and operates out of two packhouse facilities in Maharashtra.
This is DeHaat’s seventh acquisition, and it aims to fully leverage the rapidly growing Indian export market to provide better market access and price discovery to Indian farmers, the statement added.
DeHaat’s cofounder and CEO Shashank Kumar said that this investment aligns with the startup’s vision to not only boost the grape exports from India but also develop research and development capabilities to grow new varieties of grapes, offering improved value propositions to farmers across the western India.
“We established our export business 18 months ago and are today exporting more than 20 agri-produce from India to the Middle East, UK & EU. We see strong synergies around the complementary core competencies between DeHaat & Freshtrop,” Kumar said.
He added that Freshtrop’s employees, along with the founding family and its external stakeholders will continue to remain actively involved in the business as they were. Meanwhile, the company will be able to leverage DeHaat’s network and resources for market expansion, technology for the development of new grape varieties and technology-led deeper pre-harvest support for farmers.
Founded in 2012 by Amrendra Singh, Shyam Sundar, Adarsh Srivastav and Shashank Kumar, Patna and Gurugram-based DeHaat offers end-to-end agricultural services to farmers. Its services include the distribution of high-quality agri-inputs, customised farm advisory, access to financial services and market linkages for selling their produce.
Since its inception, the startup claims to have served over 2 Mn farmers across 11 states in India through its digital network of over 11,000 ‘DeHaat Centers’.
The startup said in the statement that it boasts a network of over 1,500 stock-keeping units, delivering over 15,000 orders per day to more than 15 countries.
Through this partnership, the startup aims to offer its full-stack agri services, including high-quality inputs, personalised advisory, financing, insurance & access, to wider global markets.
Interestingly, the announcement comes after the startup reported an over 253% YoY rise in its FY22 loss to INR 1,563.9 Cr. Last year, DeHaat secured $60 Mn in a Series E round, which took the total amount raised in the round to $106 Mn.
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