Mumbai: Piramal Finance Ltd, a unit of Piramal Enterprises Ltd, on Thursday said that it has invested Rs485 crore in logistics solutions provider Apollo LogiSolutions (ALS).
ALS is a 90% subsidiary of Onkar Kanwar-led Apollo International Ltd.
The investments were made through the Corporate Finance Group (CFG) of Piramal Finance, according to a company statement. In May, Mint reported that Apollo LogiSolutions was in talks to raise funds from Piramal.
This is Piramal Finance’s first investment in the logistics sector.
“The logistics space has been on our radar as a focus area for a while now. We look forward to more such transactions as we further scale up our investment focus towards this sector,” said Khushru Jijina, managing director, Piramal Finance Ltd.
ALS plans to use the funds for expanding its existing business, ramping up new business ventures as well as consolidation of ownership in various joint ventures.
In 2012, ALS entered into a joint venture with German logistics company, Fiege, to form Apollo Fiege Integrated Logistics (AFIL). In 2013, ALS acquired a Chennai-based logistics firm located strategically close to the Chennai and Ennore ports. ALS also expanded its global footprint by buying the Dubai-based Clarion Shipping Services Llc.
“This investment will boost our capabilities in providing end-to-end logistics solutions to our customers across India and internationally. Looking ahead, we believe that the logistics sector will be fuelled by increasing economic activity, and structural changes on account of GST rollout,” said Raaja Kanwar, vice-chairman and managing director, Apollo International Ltd.
Piramal’s CFG is a provider of senior debt, acquisition finance, promoter finance, private equity exits and mezzanine investments.
CFG, which started with focus on infrastructure which includes roads and renewables, has funded corporates across cement, entertainment, security management and packaging.
It has recently focused on diversifying its exposure to newer sectors including auto components. In May, it invested Rs275 crore in RSB Group, an automotive components and systems group, and Rs290 crore in Indoshell Mould Ltd, a casting and machined components company.
CFG has also launched a distressed asset investing platform that will invest in equity and debt across sectors to drive restructuring with active participation in the turnaround process. The group manages close to $5 billion under all these businesses.
Piramal Enterprises, which has recently applied for a housing finance company license, has strategic alliances with leading global funds such as APG Asset Management, Bain Capital Credit, CPPIB Credit Investment Inc. and Ivanhoé Cambridge. It also has long-term equity investments worth $700 million in financial services conglomerate Shriram Group. Piramal Enterprises posted a consolidated revenue of over $1.3 billion in FY2017, with 51% of revenue generated from outside of India.
[“Source-livemint”]
