India’s Shadowfax slips on listing, as client concentration spooks investors

Summary

Shadowfax stumbled in its market debut, with shares falling as investors weighed concerns about the logistics firm’s heavy reliance on a handful of large e-commerce clients. The company raised about ₹19.07 billion (about $208.24 million) in its initial public offering. The shares fell about 9% from the offer price of ₹124 to ₹112.60 on Wednesday, valuing the Bengaluru-based logistics firm at roughly ₹64.7 billion (about $706.58 million) on debut, roughly matching its last private valuation of close to ₹60 billion (roughly $655.01 million) in early 2025. The offering, priced in a band of ₹118–124 per share, combined a fresh issue with an offer-for-sale by existing shareholders and was subscribed nearly three times over. Founded in 2015, Shadowfax operates as a third-party logistics provider, handling last-mile and intra-city deliveries for e-commerce marketplaces, quick-commerce platforms and consumer internet companies across India. The company counts e-commerce players including Flipkart and Meesho, as well as quick-commerce and food delivery platforms Zepto and Zomato, among its largest clients, which together account for about 74% of its revenue, according to its prospectus. Its key shareholders include Flipkart, TPG NewQuest, Qualcomm, and the World Bank-backed International Finance Corporation. Shadowfax’s listing comes as the e-commerce and quick-commerce sectors continue to expand in India, driven by rising internet penetration, urbanization, and demand for faster deliveries. Platforms offering same-day or rapid fulfillment have increasingly leaned on third-party logistics providers to scale nationally, placing companies like Shadowfax at the centre of the country’s consumer internet supply chain. The offering includes shares sold by some early and institutional backers, including Flipkart, Eight Roads Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm, and Mirae Asset. Founders Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal are not participating in the offer-for-sale and wil...