Sendy, a logistics startup is reportedly shutting down its operations and exploring a sale of its assets. The deal is currently at an advanced stage with an unknown potential buyer and is hoping to make the official announcement soon.
Meshack Alloys, Sendy co-founder, confirmed the sale to TechCrunch without offering more details, saying: “We are in the middle of an acquisition process. So yes, Sendy is being acquired. We will issue a formal joint statement in two weeks or so time. In the meantime, we are unable to comment on further details at this time.”
The company apparently ran out of funds two months ago and had been scrambling to cut costs for the past year to remain afloat. Last July, it announced a 10% cut of its workforce, which Alloys noted was in response to the “current realities impacting tech companies globally.” Since then, however, Sendy’s workforce has been pruned further in more cost-cutting measures (shuttering a product line and exiting a market). Last October, the Kenyan startup laid off 54 employees and wound down its supply service — and this February, it exited its end-to-end fulfillment offering in Nigeria, a market it entered two years ago.
Sendy has enjoyed a fine run over the years, raising millions of dollars and ballooning in value, but have since run into operational costs and marginal customer pricing problems.
The startup had targeted to raise $100 million last year but only got a fraction of the funding from MOL PLUS, the corporate venture capital of Japanese transport company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. Since the deal, Sendy has been exploring other options to shore up its business these past few months, including seeking fresh capital and a buyer, three people familiar with the matter said. But that hasn’t come easy.
The Kenyan startup, valued at over $80 million late last year, was in talks with several investors to raise additional capital a few months back but at a lower valuation of $40 million to $60 million. However, one of its key investors backed out of the transaction, leaving Sendy short on funds for the last two to three months, including funds to cover salaries — it is now attempting to sell some of its assets.