Blackstone, GIC among 10 bidders in fray for LOGOS India's three assets

Global institutional investors including private equity major Blackstone Group, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Japanese shipping major Mitsui OSK Lines have bid to acquire LOGOS India's select logistics assets portfolio, which spans nearly 5 million sq ft, said people with direct knowledge of the development.

These global entities are part of a competitive pool of 10 bidders, comprising both domestic and international investors, who have placed bids ranging from ₹1,650 crore to ₹1,700 crore for three operational assets in Chennai and Haryana's Luhari.

The robust demand underscores the attractiveness of India's logistics sector, especially grade A quality assets developed and managed by institutional owners, among prominent global investors.


"These bids essentially mean over ₹15,000 crore worth liquidity is available for high quality logistics assets. This transaction is likely to be completed through a 100% acquisition of special purpose vehicles at the onshore level," said one of the persons mentioned above.

The carved-out portfolio has an occupancy level of over 95% and generates an annual rental revenue of around ₹125 crore. The Chennai logistics parks are strategically located in Irungattukottai-Poonamallee-Sriperumbudur (IPS) and Oragadam-Maraimalai Nagar (OMM).

The portfolio has secured rental cash flows with leases to diversified tenants across third-party logistics, automotive, renewable, electronics and ecommerce. These three logistics parks count manufacturing and warehousing companies including Kuehne+Nagel, Iron Mountain, Mahindra Logistics, NCR Logistics, Delhivery and HealthKart among its key occupiers.

LOGOS India has an operational portfolio spread over 5.5 million sq ft across six assets in key cities of the country and is now monetising around 5 million sq ft.

In addition to this, the company is also in the process of developing 5 million sq ft.

ET's email query to GIC, Mitsui OSK Lines and LOGOS India remained unanswered until the time of going to press. Blackstone declined to comment.

In India, a favourable regulatory environment along with the government's support through policy and reforms has started to boost spending on infrastructure and, in turn, the overall demand for modern warehousing. This has resulted in a sharp increase in appetite among institutional investors for these ready and well-managed income-producing assets.

Investments in the industrial and logistics segments have remained strong, led by rising demand for this asset class, supported by the ongoing decentralisation of manufacturing capacity from China, coupled with government initiatives such as 'Make in India' and production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

The confidence among developers, owners, operators and investors in this asset class has remained high, owing to the rapidly increasing need for last-mile deliveries and logistics.