Moglix's ₹600-cr war chest: What this unicorn is buying before its India IPO
Moglix intends to invest ₹500-600 crore in acquisitions to expand its product categories, particularly in traditional manufacturing. The company is valued at $2.6 billion and aims for a public listing in India within two years.
Accel-backed Moglix has earmarked ₹500-600 crore for acquisitions in FY26, as the online B2B marketplace for industrial tools and equipment aims to expand its product categories, with a particular focus on traditional manufacturing businesses in sustainable packaging and related sectors, a top company official official told Mint.
This initiative comes as the Singapore-headquartered unicorn prepares for a public listing in India in about two years.
The startup—valued at $2.6 billion—has already spent close to ₹200 crore in the last two years towards acquiring manufacturing businesses and distributors, in a bid to strengthen its industrial procurement network. Its latest purchase was Uttarakhand-based paper manufacturer Khatema Fibres for ₹80 crore in November last year.
Also read: Tiger Global-backed Moglix to boost sustainable packaging biz with ₹80-crore buy
“We currently have over 150 categories and there is a multitude of opportunities in distribution and manufacturing. We are broad-based in terms of acquisition and will make a choice when we find the right asset in any category," Rahul Garg, founder and chief executive of Moglix, said in an interview.
Most of Moglix’s acquisitions are likely to be traditional manufacturing business as a large chunk of the industrial equipment industry is fragmented and unorganized, according to Garg. “Both distribution and manufacturing are relatively traditional sectors and that is a primary target for us. We continue to operate in physical plus digital space so we have acquired distribution companies. We also continue to invest in building manufacturing plants."
Packaging is already among Moglix’s top 10 categories and has immense potential for growth, Garg noted. “I believe it could become a ₹1,000-crore category in the next few years—it’s already nearing ₹500 crore."
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Business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces that are online-first and technology-enabled are expected to represent a market opportunity of $200 billion by 2030 from $20 billion in 2022, according to estimates by Bessemer Venture Partners.
Founded in 2015 by Garg, a former Google executive, Moglix has raised over $370 million to date. Backed by Tiger Global, Accel and Alpha Wave Global, Moglix competes with IPO-bound OfBusiness, Infra.Market, and Zetwerk in the industrial supplies space. OfBusiness, currently valued at around $5 billion, has appointed Axis, JP Morgan, and Citi Bank as bankers for its upcoming $1-billion public issue, according to a Reuters report. Zetwerk is reportedly eyeing an IPO in the first half of 2025, aiming to raise as much as $1 billion.
In March, Moglix appointed Sanjeev Arora as chief financial officer to focus on capital planning and prepare the company to enter the public markets. The firm will accelerate its IPO plans including initiating conversations with bankers towards the end of this year, with the aim of going public in less than two years, Garg said.
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In FY24, Moglix focused on balancing growth and profitability. Its revenue rose marginally to ₹4,964 crore from ₹4,704 crore the previous year, while losses eased to ₹189 crore. Moglix’s revenue and profit improved year-on-year in the fiscal year ended March 2025, Garg said, without revealing exact figures as the financial statements are yet to be filed with the Registrar of Companies (ROC).
The company ramped up its use of technology during the year, automating customer service and internal operations to improve efficiency—a move Garg believes will yield long-term benefits.
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