Morgan Stanley arm buys majority stake in Pune's KSH Infra for ₹350 crore

Mumbai: Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) has picked up a majority stake in Pune-based warehouse and logistics park developer KSH Infra Ltd for around ₹350 crore. MSREI is the private real estate investment management arm of US-based Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

KSH Infra, which operates two warehousing and industrial logistics parks, totaling around 1 million square feet, in Pune, had been looking to raise funds to expand its warehousing business.

“We are actively looking at growing our industrial/warehousing verticals and see robust demand from various segments, including manufacturing, logistics companies, retailers and e-commerce players," said Rohit Hegde, managing director, KSH Distriparks Ltd.

After the transaction, KSH Infra has been de-merged from KSH Distriparks Pvt. Ltd, which operates an internal container depot (ICD) in Pune and a pan-India third-party logistics business, Hegde said.

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to KSH Group and its shareholders.

On 22 October 2018, Mint had reported that a real estate fund managed by Morgan Stanley is in advanced talks with KSH Infra for investing in its warehousing assets.

The rapid rise of e-commerce and the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) have led to an increase in demand for warehousing in the country, according to Prateek Jhawar, director and head, infrastructure and real assets banking, Avendus Capital.

“Warehousing and logistics are no longer being seen merely as business processes. Rather, they have become an integral part of the retail value chain, critical for sustained growth.

The market is witnessing a rapid change as the sector is increasingly being dominated by organised players."

The Indian logistics industry, worth around $160 billion, is likely to touch $215 billion in the next three years following the implementation of GST, and is growing at a CAGR of 10.5%, according to the Economic Survey 2017-18.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.