Undated handout photo provided by UniUniSupplied
Last-mile e-commerce delivery company UniUni is planning to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company led by Matthew Proud in a deal that would value the combined entity at more than US$1-billion.
The deal, would see MAK Acquisition Corp. – the special purpose acquisition company or SPAC led by Mr. Proud, the former CEO of Dye & Durham Corp. – merge with Richmond, B.C.-based UniUni, officially known as Uni Express Inc. UniUni operates a low-cost, last-mile delivery service that focuses on high volume, low margin Asian ecommerce merchants Shein, Temu and TikTok.
Underwriters Canaccord Genuity and Scotiabank are co-leading the deal, while Origin Merchant Partners is advising UniUni.
According to a confidential memorandum circulated to prospective investors this spring and obtained by The Globe and Mail, UniUni has been growing at a torrid pace. Revenue expanded from US$113-million in 2023 to US$295-million in 2024 and US$683-million last year. It expects to generate US$1.1-billion in revenue this year and surpass US$1.5-billion in 2027. UniUni is one of Canada’s largest technology or technology-enabled private companies and the fifth-fastest growing tech company in Canada, according to Deloitte.
B.C. last-mile delivery giant UniUni raises $85-million to support expansion
UniUni is also unprofitable: It lost US$70-million in 2025, the memo states. But it expects to reach profitability this year and generate US$125-million in pre-tax profits in 2027, due to a growing share of its business coming from higher-margin North American shippers, plus gains from cost efficiencies and higher volumes. According to the deck, North American customers shipped 17.6-million packages in the fourth quarter alone, up from just 200,000 in 2024. UniUni delivered 238-million packages in 2025, compared with 101-million in 2024.
Alongside the merger, UniUni is raising US$100-million in an offering known as a PIPE (private investment in public equity), down from an original target of US$150-million. There is also US$100-milion in cash held in trust by Toronto Stock Exchange-listed MAK. However, MAK unitholders can opt to redeem their equity if they choose, reducing the amount of cash the SPAC would contribute to the merged entity.
Investors in UniUni, which has an enterprise value of US$955-million heading into the deal, would end up with at least 74 per cent of the combined entity. A source familiar with the matter said the deal could be announced within a week. The Globe is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
MAK spokesman Wojtek Dabrowski said in an e-mail “We don’t comment on market rumours and speculation.” UniUni did not respond to a request for comment.
SPAC redemptions are difficult to predict and one reason combinations between the publicly listed shell companies and privately held operating entities are controversial. When quantum computer developer Xanadu Quantum Technologies Ltd. combined with NASDAQ-listed SPAC Crane Harbor Acquisition Corp. in March, nearly 90 per cent of holders of the latter redeemed their units. However, Xanadu also raised US$275-million from its PIPE.
SPACs have made a comeback this year, after a spurt of deals early during the COVID-19 pandemic petered out when tech valuations fizzled. Vancouver-based fusion reactor developer General Fusion Inc. is among those pursuing a SPAC merger.
B.C.’s General Fusion to go public with SPAC deal
By contrast, publicly-traded technology companies continue to disappear from Canadian exchanges as muted valuations prevail, prompting a slew of takeovers.
Mr. Proud was previously CEO of Dye & Durham in 2024, a provider of legal and business services software he had built through a debt-fuelled acquisition campaign. He left in December, 2024, after a successful campaign by activist investor Engine Capital Management, LP to overhaul the board.
Since then, Mr. Proud has become a formidable activist investor himself, successfully pushing for governance changes and strategic reviews through his private holding company Plantro Ltd. at TSX-listed companies Information Services Corp., Calian Group Ltd., Ag Growth International Inc. – and Dye & Durham.
UniUni was founded by chief executive Peter Lu and chief operating officer Kevin Wang seven years ago, originally as a meal-delivery service. It shifted into e-commerce fulfilment during the pandemic. In the past year, UniUni has hired former Shopify logistics executive Sheila Berry as chief revenue officer and veteran Silicon Valley engineering executive Ali Irturk as chief technology officer.
The company has raised US$230-million in equity and counts U.S. venture capital giant Bessemer Venture Partners, China’s Sinovation Ventures, Rockets Capital and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., as well as Ottawa-based Celtic House Venture Partners as investors.
It delivers from 130 hubs and has 15 sorting sites across North America and more 20,000 active drivers in its network.
UniUni has come under fire over some labour-practice allegations. Last year, The Information, an online technology news publication, reported that police found workers who spoke only Chinese were living in squalid conditions inside a UniUni warehouse in Connecticut, that was not up to code to serve as a residence or commercial warehouse. The company has said it complies with all labour laws and said the Connecticut matter was an isolated situation.
The company is also facing lawsuits for allegedly underpaying workers in California.
In addition, the e-commerce space was hit after the U.S. cut off a trade exemption last year that allowed packages from China with goods valued at less than US$800 to enter the country tax-free. That previous exemption had been crucial to businesses whose supply chains rely heavily on Chinese imports to the U.S.
According to the pitch document, UniUni plans to invest US$30-million of the SPAC merger proceeds on automation, US$40-million to repay a working capital loan, US$50-million on working capital, and US$30-million for growth and other purposes.