What Triggered Ecom Express’ $165 Mn Fire Sale To Delhivery?

Last week, the Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a different kind of distress sale. Typically speaking, such deals involve companies going through a downturn, but this time it was for an IPO-bound company —  Ecom Express. 

Listed major Delhivery informed stock exchanges that it is acquiring 99.4% stake in Ecom Express for INR 1,407 Cr ($165 Mn), an almost 80% valuation drop from Ecom Express’s last valuation of INR 7,300 Cr ($850 Mn). 

The deal will go down in history for two reasons. Firstly, this distress sale is arguably the…