App-based, IoT, and cloud-enabled fuel delivery platform FuelBuddy on Sunday announced that it had acquired Bengaluru-based on-demand fuel delivery startup MyPetrolPump, which would provide it access to new geographies and customers.
With this acquisition, FuelBuddy will have over 100 bowsers (refuellers) under management, servicing 30 cities and all market segments with a combined delivery volume of nearly 40 million litres along with an experience of nearly 100,000 processed orders.
It focuses largely on the bulk category, according to the statement, and provides FuelBuddy with an access to newer geographies, customers, and management bandwidth.
Speaking on the development, Gautam Malhotra, Founder, FuelBuddy, said,
“The synergy between the two organisations is huge and am sure both the teams put together will deliver high growth and great results. The combined company is well poised to capture all key markets and segments across the country.”
The MyPetrolPump team has built a great platform and business in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune. Coupled with the FuelBuddy network, the combined entity will be operational in 30 cities across India, he said.
This acquisition also kicks off the consolidation process in this space and FuelBuddy will be looking at smaller bolt-on acquisitions to further consolidate the industry and create a solid footing for itself, Gautam said.
While entry barriers to this business may seem low, the model requires licensing, technology, financial strength, and support of long-term investors to create a large, sustainable and growth oriented-organisation, he said.
Serving institutional B2B buyers, FuelBuddy”s average order size is 1,700 litres while MyPetrolPump”s average order size is 300 litres. Post consolidation, FuelBuddy will be able to service both bulk and non-bulk categories of customers, the company stated.
Huge market potential
The high speed diesel market stands at $100 billion in India and within that the doorstep HSD delivery model has the potential of up to 26 percent market share, implying a $26 billion marketplace for startups like FuelBuddy, it stated.
Commenting on the synergistic transaction and geographic reach, Ashish Gupta, Co-founder, MyPetrolPump said,
“As part of this transaction, we are extremely happy to become the largest fuel delivery company serving customers pan India. The combined strengths of the two leading companies in this space opens up new opportunities for us to aggressively go after the $ 100 billion market opportunity.
“We would now be able to serve customers from Tier II cities and expand our footprints to rural areas too,” he added.
According to the press statement, so far FuelBuddy had raised Rs 29.5 crore and MyPetrolPump had raised Rs 14 crore in funding for meeting expansion plans.
