Billionaire Gautam Adani's port-to-power Adani Group has acquired a majority stake in Snowman Logistics Ltd for Rs 296 crore to foray into cold chain logistics.

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Adani Logistics Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd, signed definitive agreements to acquire 40.25 percent stake in Snowman Logistics Ltd from Gateway Distriparks Ltd, the company said in a statement.

Snowman is a market leader in cold chain logistics with over 30 percent of capacity amongst integrated organised cold chain service providers in India.

The acquisition gives Adani Logistics platform to double its capacity in the next five years. The buyout is in line with the firm's strategy to move from the port gate to customer gate.

"The purchase price of Rs 44 per share represents a 3.2 percent premium to the market price of December 27, 2019, and a 12 percent premium to 60-day average," it said.

As part of the transaction, Adani Logistics will make a mandatory open offer as per the Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover Guidelines, 2011 for a maximum 26 percent of the public shareholding in the Snowman Logistics. The acquisition is subject to customary condition precedents and expected to close by March 31, 2020.

Karan Adani, chief executive officer and whole-time director of APSEZ said, "The acquisition is in line with our strategy and vision to be a leader in providing integrated logistics services in India and moving from port gate to customer gate. The cold chain is a key product in customer gate strategy given India's consumer-driven demand. We will double the capacity in the next five years.

"With a focus on increase in utilisation, higher realisation from product mix and operational efficiencies, this vertical will help further improve returns of logistics business".

Incorporated in 1994, Snowman Logistics is in the business of integrated cold chain logistics providing warehousing, distribution and value-added services.

With over 25 years of expertise, the firm is the largest organised player in the country with pan India presence operating 31 temperature-controlled warehouses at 15 strategic locations. The company infrastructure includes warehousing capacity of 1,04,343 pallets and 293 refrigerated vehicles.

Adani Logistics has expertise in handling varied customer across segments like retail, industrial, bulk, break-bulk, liquids, auto and grain handling. It currently operates 5 logistics parks, 55 rakes, 400,000 sq ft of warehousing space, 5,000-plus containers, 0.9 million tonnes of grain silos and 9 inland waterways vessels.

The company is targeting 15-plus logistics parks, 200-plus rakes, 5 million sq ft of warehouse space, over 15,000 containers, 2.5 million tonnes of grain silos and 25 inland waterways vessels by 2025, the statement said.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), a part of globally diversified Adani Group, is the largest port developer and operator in India.

Its 10 strategically located ports and terminals — Mundra, Dahej, Kandla and Hazira in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha, Mormugao in Goa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Kattupalli and Ennore in Chennai — represent 24 percent of the country's total port capacity, handling vast amounts of cargo from both coastal areas and the vast hinterland.

First Published:Dec 27, 2019 8:07 PM IST