The transaction, which involves a primary equity raise and secondary sale, may peg an enterprise value of around $500 million for the Delhi-based company, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
Among others competing for the deal are US freight rail company Midrail LLC, and a joint venture of European alternative asset manager EQT and Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. EQT and Temasek already jointly operate O2 Power, an Indian renewable energy platform they had launched in 2020.
“APM Capital, EQT and Temasek and MidRail are in the fray for acquiring the stake. APM Capital is leading the process,” said one of the two people mentioned above.
GIP looks for exit
New York-based GIP, which was acquired by the asset management major Blackrock Inc. in January this year for about $12.5 billion, is looking to exit its investment in Pristine Logistics. It holds about 57% through the Indian Infrastructure Fund II, which it manages after its acquisition of IDFC Alternative Fund in 2022. Prior to the acquisition, IDFC Alternatives had raised two infrastructure funds — India Infrastructure Fund and India Infrastructure Fund II.
ET Infra had earlier reported that A.P. Møller Capital P/S, part of the A.P. Moller Group, is said to be among entities seeking to buy GIP’s Pristine Logistics stake.
Queries sent to Pristine Logistics, AP Moller Capital, MidRail and EQT remained unanswered till press time. A Temasek spokesperson said: “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on behalf of our portfolio companies, including our JVs”.
Pristine Logistics, which is in the rail-focused logistics business, was founded in 2008 by former Indian Railways officials Amit Kumar and Rajnish Kumar. The company operates five logistics parks through its subsidiaries, in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Ludhiana (Punjab), Siliguri (West Bengal), Patna (Bihar) and Birgunj (Nepal). According to the company website, Pristine owns warehousing area of around 900,000 sq. ft and approximately 2,624 domestic standard containers and 395 dwarf containers. It also operates around 390 trailers and 37 rakes.
Last year, Pristine acquired debt-ridden Sical Logistics, a listed entity, for about ₹400 crore through the National Company law Tribunal. In November, it also acquired Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd and its group companies (DLI India) from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) London-listed Infrastructure India Plc in a stock and cash deal.
In 2022, the company had filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise about ₹250 crore, and Sebi had approved the the IPO in October that year. The company, however, did not go ahead with a listing. Its prospectus showed that IIF-II, the fund currently managed by GIP, holds about 30.86 million shares or about 57% of the stake. Through the IPO, GIP aimed to sell 17.77 million shares.
Pristine had planned to use the IPO proceeds to invest in its subsidiaries for the purpose of repayment or pre-payment, in full or part, of certain borrowings availed by its subsidiaries, apart from general corporate purposes.
Focused on transport infrastructure
AP Moller, meanwhile, is focused on investments in critical transport and logistics infrastructure along with energy, including renewables. “We focus on investments that support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the markets where we operate while delivering consistent and competitive returns,” says the company website.
In May this year, the fund manager signed a memorandum of understanding with JSW Infrastructure Ltd to create a joint venture and develop ports and logistics infrastructure in India.
In February, the asset management arm of AP Moller Group opened an office in Singapore, stating it plans to invest over $750 million in South and Southeast Asia.
India’s logistics space seems to garner investor interest amid policy push from the government including the infrastructure status accorded to the segment and the rollout of the National Logistics Policy. According to India Investment Grid, a platform under the Union commerce ministry, India has investment opportunities worth nearly $11 billion in logistics infrastructure.