Bengaluru: B2B ecommerce platform Udaan on Tuesday announced a proposed $160 million financing transaction comprising fresh equity, new debt and the conversion of existing debt into shares.The transaction broadly includes about $50 million in fresh equity from Lightspeed Venture Partners and M&G Prudential, around $50 million in private credit from BlackRock and the conversion of about $60 million of existing debt into equity, according to people familiar with the matter.The $60 million debt conversion does not represent fresh capital coming into the company. Existing convertible bondholders will instead exchange a portion of the money owed to them for shares in Udaan, helping the company reduce debt and simplify its capital structure.Udaan did not name the investors or disclose the complete transaction split in its announcement. It said existing shareholders and a new investor would infuse fresh capital, while some convertible bondholders would convert part of their outstanding bonds into equity.The company said a global investment management firm had committed approximately $45 million through its private-credit platform. People familiar with the transaction identified the firm as BlackRock and said the commitment was broadly around $50 million.The balance of the convertible bonds that are not being converted into equity will be extended under revised terms and conditions.The company has also increased its focus on higher-margin private-label products, which now account for 15% to 25% of staples sales across the cities where it operates.“With a stronger balance sheet and a simpler capital structure, we are well positioned to continue investing in customer value, deepening our market leadership and progressing towards our long-term public market ambitions,” co-founder and chief executive Vaibhav Gupta said.
