Mumbai: Warehousing firm Casagrand Distripark Pvt. Ltd (CGD), a developer and operator of industrial and warehousing parks, is in talks to raise around $100 million from LOGOS India, a warehousing and logistics investment platform, said two people aware of the development.
In August, LOGOS Group and Assetz Property Group, based in Sydney and Singapore, respectively, partnered to set up a logistics and warehousing platform that would invest to build and manage specialized logistics and industrial parks in India.
LOGOS is an integrated logistics real estate specialist, with operations in Australia, China, South-East Asia. Assetz Property Group has had a fully operational real estate firm here. If the talks between LOGOS India and CGD results in an investment, it will be the platform’s first investment in India.
“LOGOS India is in advanced talks with Chennai-based Casagrand Distripark to invest close to $100 million in the company. LOGOS is currently conducting due diligence on the assets. The deal is expected to be closed in the coming weeks and will mark LOGOS India’s first investment in India,” said one of the persons cited above, requesting anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
CGD currently owns warehousing space, developed and underdeveloped, of around 1.5 million sq. ft, he said.
In February, Mint reported that Casagrand Distripark had appointed investment bank Avendus Capital to help raise capital.
Emails sent to Casagrand Distripark did not elicit any response. “We do not comment on market speculation,” a spokesperson for LOGOS India said in an email response. “As a matter of policy, Avendus does not comment on ongoing transactions—whether ours or those in the market,” said an Avendus spokesperson.
In October, LOGOS India raised $400 million in equity capital from Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada’s second-largest pension fund, and Vancouver-based QuadReal Property Group.
The Indian warehousing space has in the last couple of years seen several investments with funds such as CPPIB and Warburg Pincus partnering with developers to create large platforms.
In May, IndoSpace and Canadian pension fund CPPIB created a joint venture, IndoSpace Core, to acquire and develop modern logistics facilities in India. CPPIB has made a significant commitment of around $1 billion towards IndoSpace’s assets. Currently, IndoSpace’s portfolio includes around 28 logistics and industrial parks across the country.
In June, Singapore-based Ascendas-Singbridge Group announced a joint venture with Firstspace Realty to enter the Indian industrial logistics and warehousing market. They jointly aim to invest $600 million over the next five to six years and develop around 15 million sq. ft of space.