KKR & Co. on Wednesday said it has agreed to buy a majority stake in logistics solutions company Leap India, a move that will deepen the US private equity firm’s presence in Asia’s infrastructure space.
The transaction will also bolster KKR’s infrastructure bets in India that include investments in a decarbonization platform, renewable energy companies, and highways and power transmission businesses.
The deal is likely to close by the end of this quarter, according to KKR. The PE firm didn’t disclose financial details of the transaction.
The deal is also likely to allow an exit to at least some of Leap’s existing investors although neither the company nor KKR provided any such details.
An email query sent to Leap India didn’t elicit a response until the time of publishing this report. A spokesperson for KKR said Leap founder Sunu Mathew will remain an investor in the company but declined to comment on exits by other shareholders.
Leap India’s investors include Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure, an IIFL fund, Mayfield Fund, Sixth Sense Ventures, and TVS Capital. Sixth Sense and Mayfield had made partial exits in 2021 when Schroder Adveq Management and a fund managed by IIFL bet on the company.
Morgan Stanley’s India Infrastructure Fund acquired a stake in Leap India in early 2021 for ₹180 crore.
“Leap is a standout leader in India’s pallet pooling industry who will play an important role in driving the country’s continued modernization and growth. It is supporting this shift by providing the critical assets needed for the manufacturing, storage, and movement of goods in supply chains and in so doing also, helps companies to be better equipped to improve the environmental impact of their operations,” said Ami Momaya, director, infrastructure at KKR.
Founded in 2013 by Mathew, Leap India offers supply chain solutions, including equipment pooling, returnable packaging, inventory management and movement, transportation, and repair and maintenance, with clients in industries such as e-commerce, consumer durables, beverages, fast-moving consumer goods and automotive.
Currently, it operates a network of 21 warehouses and manages assets valued more than $6 million, including pallets and containers, across India.
The KKR deal means Leap won’t go ahead with its listing plans anytime soon. In November, Mint reported that the logistics firm aimed to raise about ₹1,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).
The public issue was to comprise a fresh issue of equity shares and an offer for sale by its shareholders.
For KKR, the Leap India deal is part of its Asia infrastructure strategy. In May, it signed a cheque valued around $250 million for Serentica Renewables, a decarbonization platform set up by mining billionaire Anil Agarwal. The additional investment came about six months after KKR committed $400 million to Serentica.
Some of its other infra-focused bets include Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy platform in India, IndiGrid, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), and Highways Infrastructure Trust, a roads InvIT.
Among other sectors, VCCircle reported in June that KKR was evaluating potential acquisitions in India’s beauty and personal care sector in a bid to expand operations of its portfolio company, Vini Cosmetics.