Sendle merges with US peers to form FAST Group
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The news: Sydney delivery startup Sendle has announced a merger with ACI Logistix and FastMile, a strategic move it says will allow it to further expand into the US market.
Sendle founder James Chin Moody described the new company to Capital Brief as Sendle merging with ACI Logistix, and the pair purchasing FastMile. Federation, one of Sendle's earliest and biggest backers, helped fund the new entity.
The context: The new FAST Group will consist of Sendle as well as ACI Logistix, a company founded in 1965 that handles both shipping and on-land logistics, and e-commerce delivery specialist FirstMile. ACI Logistix leader Keith Somers will lead as chief executive of FAST Group, which will be headquartered in California.
Each of the three companies will continue to operate as their own entities, with Moody retaining his title as co-founder and CEO of Sendle.
Founded in 2014, Sendle's aim was to disrupt Australia Post by providing cheaper and more convenient delivery options for small and medium-sized businesses. In 2019, it expanded into the US, and in 2021 it capped a $45 million Series C led by AfterPay's AP Ventures.
Last year, it raised USD10 million from private equity firm Federation, which as Capital Brief reported contained a clause giving an 8X liquidation preference to Federation and other shareholders who invested in the round. That raised speculation that Sendle was en route to an acquisition.
Moody says this merger is not such a situation, noting Sendle has quadrupled its net revenue in the past year and the company has doubled in size.
What they said: "From our early investors to our more recent investors, every single one of them has voted positively for it, and the vast majority of them have voted," Moody said.
"This has actually accelerated us another three years in terms of where we would have otherwise been," he said.
"All three of these businesses were all talking together and we realised we were actually trying to solve the same problem... If you brought all the puzzle pieces together, the sort of impact we could have for each others' businesses was incredible."
