MUMBAI, 7 NOVEMBER, 2023 (GPN): Pristine Malwa Logistics Park Pvt Ltd (Pristine Malwa) and its holding company Pristine Logistics and Infraprojects Ltd have entered into a share purchase and shareholders’ agreement for the acquisition of Distribution Logistics Infrastructure Private Ltd and its group companies (DLI India).

The agreement has been entered into with AIM (London Stock Exchange) listed Infrastructure India Plc (IIP), the holding company of DLI India and DLI Mauritius. Under the agreement, DLI Mauritius will sell 100% of the equity of DLI India to Pristine Malwa. Pristine Malwa is already the holding company of listed entity SICAL Logistics Ltd (Sical).

On completion of the transaction, which is subject to fulfilment of customary conditions precedent and approvals from DLI India’s lenders, Pristine Malwa will hold 100% shares in all logistics firms of IIP in India. The consideration for the acquisition shall be a mix of shares in Pristine Malwa and cash consideration, which shall be finalised at the completion of the deal on the basis of customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to be completed within 60 days, following which Pristine Malwa will be the holding company of both Sical and DLI India.

This is likely to turn Pristine Logistics into the largest private sector container train operator in India, with a terminal footprint spread across most of the significant catchment areas.

Sical, an erstwhile Café Coffee Day Group company was acquired by Pristine Logistics, through Pristine Malwa, through a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), following which Sical got relisted on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in October, 2023.
DLI, on the other hand, owns Integrated Logistics Parks (ILPs)-cum-Private Freight Terminals (PFTs) in Nagpur and Bangalore. Another ILP is under construction in the Palwal region of NCR. It also owns 120 acres in Chennai besides holding a warehouse facility in Hassan, Karnataka.

DLI is a category one CTO license holder, owning ten container rakes currently. These are operational at its Nagpur facility. DLI, with its regional and head offices in Bangalore and Gurugram, is into a host of logistics services involving container train operations, Indian Railways wagons handling, running of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and bonded warehousing that would help Pristine group expand its presence pan India further.

The acquisition of Sical earlier this year and this move had turned it into one of the largest private sector container train operators in the country. The company has its headquarters in Delhi and provides end-to-end logistics solutions with its large number of container trains as well as Inland Container Depots (ICDs), Container Freight Stations (CFSs) and freight terminals. Not only does the Pristine Group handle containerized cargo for neighbouring countries, it also operates rakes in the domestic circuit.

Already on an expansion mode, it is now exploring the Gati Shakti Terminal (GCT) Policy of Indian Railways to accelerate terminal presence.
Under this Policy, Pristine Logistics recently won bids for GCTs at Rewari and Kanpur along the Dedicated Freight Corridor network. The company already operates a rail-linked ICD in Nepal and recently announced a partnership with Summit Alliance Port (SAPL) – listed on the Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchanges – to explore possibilities of developing rail-linked ICDs/CFSs in Bangladesh.

Following the acquisition by Pristine Malwa, DLI will seek to leverage the operational experience of Pristine Logistics, fast-track its growth while becoming part of a larger group. This would result in significant synergies for Pristine Logistics, Sical and DLI.Ends