Growing Norwegian containership freight rate benchmarking group Xeneta has attracted $80m in fresh investments from private equity.
Apax Digital, the growth equity arm of private equity advisory firm Apax, led the funding round which reportedly gives Xeneta a $265m valuation.
With this investment, Xeneta said it will accelerate investments in platform development and continue scaling its global commercial teams.
This will support expansion into new markets as companies seek to develop resilient supply chains to counter global trade volatility, the company added.
This is Xeneta’s second fundraising in a little over a year.
In July 2021, the company successfully closed a $28.5m Series C round which was led by New York-based Lugard Road Capital, Xeneta’s first U.S. investor, with additional contributions from existing investors Creandum and Investinor.
Mark Beith, partner at Apax Digital, who joins Xeneta’s board of directors, said buyers and sellers of freight have been “flying blind” in a complex and opaque market.
“Xeneta’s … dataset and cutting-edge platform provide unique access to granular real-time information and insight, enabling data-driven freight sales and purchases,” he said.
Beith claims this delivers “compelling value” for their blue-chip customer base — not just in sales or procurement, but also in budgeting and reporting, and increasingly in ESG monitoring.
“While global trade tries to get back on its feet after a couple of years of uncertainty, it’s clear that the overall logistics industry requires a re-think of how freight is bought and sold,” said Xeneta CEO and Co-founder Patrik Berglund.
“This new funding will help us accelerate the development of our platform and add even more datasets to enrich our expert industry analyses to further drive transparency in the market.”
Xeneta’s customer portfolio includes amongst others: Electrolux, Unilever, Nestle, Zebra Technologies, Thyssenkrupp, Volvo, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, and John Deere.
Apax is no stranger to dealings with the shipping industry. Late last year it agreed to sell its stake in maritime satellite provider Inmarsat to US company Viasat for $7.3bn.
In December 2021, AP Moller Holding, which invests the wealth of the billionaire Maersk family, announced it was moving into healthcare with the acquisition of Covid-19 test maker and diagnostics company Unilabs from Apax Partners for an undisclosed sum.
