Valuation of $1 Billion: North American Last-Mile Fulfillment Unicorn UniUni to Pursue Dual Listing on Toronto and Nasdaq

[Ebrun Original] May 19th news: The North American 'last-mile' delivery sector has witnessed another significant capital move.

Recently, technology-driven logistics platform Uni Express Inc. (hereinafter referred to as UniUni) and Toronto Stock Exchange-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) MAK Acquisition Corp. (hereinafter referred to as MAK) jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Through a reverse takeover of MAK, UniUni will go public. The combined entity plans to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker symbol 'UN' and seek a dual listing on Nasdaq shortly after the transaction's completion.

This transaction values UniUni at an enterprise value of approximately $1 billion (about C$1.37 billion), making it one of the largest tech listings in Canada in recent years.

According to the agreement, MAK will acquire all issued and outstanding shares of UniUni in exchange for MAK Acquisition shares at $10.00 per share.

Upon completion, MAK, UniUni, and a newly formed subsidiary, Finco, established for this financing will merge into 'New UniUni'. Existing shareholders of UniUni and MAK, along with investors participating in a concurrent private placement (PIPE), will hold corresponding equity stakes in the new company.

Assuming no redemptions by MAK's Class A restricted voting shareholders and full completion of the planned $100 million PIPE, it is estimated that post-closing, UniUni's existing shareholders will hold approximately 78% of the new company, MAK's existing shareholders about 12%, and PIPE investors about 10%. Control of the combined entity will remain firmly with the founding team and management.

In the announcement, UniUni defines itself as a 'customer-neutral platform,' serving global leading e-commerce platforms, international brands, independent online retailers, and a vast number of small and medium-sized merchants.

The company's core business focuses on the final delivery of e-commerce parcels. By integrating over 100,000 registered drivers through its technology platform, it has built a high-density, repeatable parcel delivery network across major metropolitan areas in North America.

Currently, UniUni handles over 1 million parcels daily, with approximately 80% of its revenue coming from the United States and the remaining 20% from Canada.

Financially, the company's annual revenue has surged from $113 million in 2023, with full-year 2026 revenue projected to exceed $1 billion. Management also anticipates significant 'organic growth' in 2027.

The company explains this growth trajectory is supported by the continued expansion of the global e-commerce market and is closely tied to its own unit economics—its system continuously optimizes algorithms with each delivery, driving efficiency gains, thereby supporting a business model poised for scalable profitability.

Choosing the SPAC route over a traditional initial public offering (IPO) is a notable structural aspect of this transaction. MAK, the listing vehicle, is a Cayman Islands-registered 'blank check company' with the explicit goal of finding a high-growth company to merge with. Through this reverse takeover, UniUni can achieve asset securitization in a relatively short timeframe while simultaneously launching a concurrent financing round.

Furthermore, the proceeds from this fundraising will primarily be used to expand processing capacity. UniUni plans to build next-generation automated super sorting centers within its existing network, aiming to increase its daily parcel handling capacity from the current over 1 million to 3 million parcels. The remaining funds will supplement working capital and be used for general corporate purposes.

Commenting on the listing move, UniUni's Founder and CEO, Peter Lu, attributed the company's competitive advantage to 'technology enablement and a flexible operating model,' stating they will continue investing in automation to meet evolving customer demands.

MAK Acquisition's Chairman and CEO, Matt Proud, called UniUni a 'true Canadian champion' and expressed anticipation for collaborating with management in the next phase.

It is reported that UniUni was co-founded in Vancouver, Canada, in 2019 by Peter Lu and Kevin Wang.

Founder Peter Lu graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a degree in Computer Science and holds certified expert qualifications from leading IT companies like Microsoft and Oracle. During over two decades of living in Canada, he worked part-time in food delivery and founded a meal delivery platform called Save Online. These experiences provided him with direct frontline operational insights for later venturing into crowdsourced logistics.

Initially, UniUni focused on food delivery with only a few drivers. A pivotal moment came in 2019 when Shein, then still headquartered in China, was expanding into North America. A Shein representative in Vancouver happened to see a UniUni delivery vehicle on the street and inquired if they could handle parcel delivery. This unexpected opportunity became UniUni's first major contract, prompting Peter Lu and his team to decisively pivot their entire business focus to e-commerce last-mile delivery.

In the following years, UniUni capitalized on the global e-commerce boom accelerated by the pandemic, expanding rapidly.

In 2022, the company faced a 'darkest hour' when its Series A financing, negotiated for over half a year, failed to close, ultimately requiring a rescue from industrial capital like Zongteng Group.

In 2023, UniUni secured three funding rounds within a single year. The total annual funding enabled the company to accelerate the deployment of its sorting center network across North America, with daily parcel delivery volume nearing 300,000 by year-end.

Between 2024 and 2025, the company rapidly completed Series C1, C2, D, bridge, and E rounds within months, raising over $285 million in total.

As a last-mile fulfillment 'unicorn' once recognized by Deloitte as 'one of North America's fastest-growing companies,' UniUni has consistently been a focus within the industry. It is widely regarded as a 'formidable challenger' with the potential to disrupt the traditional North American fulfillment market landscape. If this reverse takeover and subsequent Nasdaq listing proceed smoothly, UniUni will join the ranks of the few tech logistics companies listed simultaneously on major Canadian and U.S. exchanges.

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