When Shadowfax was founded in 2015, India’s ecommerce ecosystem was still learning how to move parcels efficiently beyond metros.

Over the past decade, logistics has become the backbone of digital commerce — not just large marketplaces, but for food delivery and hyperlocal retail, and more recently, quick commerce.

Bengaluru-based Shadowfax has seen it all, and kept pace with the evolution of digital commerce. Now on the cusp of an initial public offering (IPO), the company is confident of having created the right moats to fight off growing competition in the logistics tech and fulfilment space.

Faced with consolidation, pricing pressure and a shift towards hyperlocal growth, the logistics ecosystem is eyeing 2026 for more clarity and the feeling is that this year will define the winners from the rest.

Which is why Shadowfax’s INR 1,900 Cr IPO — relatively smaller than other floats in recent times — comes at an interesting time.

The issue, which will open on January 20, placed the company among the latest generation of new-age logistics firms to seek a stock market listing after Delhivery and just ahead of digital commerce enabler and logistics tech company Shiprocket.

Shadowfax plans to deploy the bulk of the fresh issue proceeds to expand and strengthen its logistics network. Close to 40% of the total IPO proceeds will be used for capital expenditure on network infrastructure, including new first-mile, last-mile and sorting facilities.

With a grey market premium of around INR 16 per share on January 17, the company’s shares are expected to list at INR 140. Potentially, it’d result in share price opening 12-13% higher than the upper price band of INR 124, but a lot will depend on the subscription and anchor round appetite.

But regardless of the share price or listing premium, we need to see where exactly Shadowfax is heading as it hits the big leagues.

The Question Of Pricing And Valuation

On the face of it, and at the upper end of the price band, Shadowfax is looking to go for an IPO at a price to sales (P/S) ratio of roughly 2.8X, a higher premium compared to peers like Delhivery.

Pertinent to note that the company became profitable in FY25, reporting a net profit of INR 6.4 Cr on a revenue of INR 2,485 Cr. In H1FY26, the company’s profit increased to INR 21 Cr on an operating revenue of INR 1,805 Cr.

This puts Shadowfax’s pre-IPO price to earnings multiple at 0.12, which hints at modest margin accretion in the past fiscal year.

Notably, the listing comes at a time when there are only two large players remaining in the logistics and fulfilment market. This includes Shadowfax and Delhivery, which acquired Ecom Express.

The other major ecommerce delivery player Xpressbees is currently grappling with deep losses and customer churn.

“The current state of the market will........

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