Mid-market private equity firm Ambit Pragma Ventures has sold its majority stake in Pune-based Spear Logistics Pvt Ltd to French firm FM Logistic for an undisclosed amount, according to a press statement.
This is the debut exit deal for Ambit Pragma and also its first investment. The PE firm had first invested in Spear Logistics in 2009 through its Ambit Pragma Fund I. It made an additional investment in 2011 to gain a majority stake. In total, it invested about $6 million in the two stages, according to VCCEdge, the data-research platform of VCCircle.
Gautam Dembla, CEO of Spear Logistics, said the company will benefit from FM Logistic’s global expertise and aims to become a market leader in the Indian organised logistics segment.
Besides Spear, Ambit Pragma counts frozen food logistics firm Kelvin Cold Chain Logistics Pvt Ltd in its portfolio. It also has investments in healthcare, media and consumer goods companies.
Incorporated in 2001, Spear offers long-term inventory and warehousing management business. It has a pan-India presence and manages 75 warehouses across 23 cities with about 1,600 employees. The company clocked revenue of around Rs 135 crore for 2015-16, up nearly fivefold since Ambit Pragma's investment, the statement said.
FM Logistic provides warehousing, transportation and co-packing services to consumer goods, retailing, cosmetics, industrial and health companies. Founded in 1967, the firm has revenue of about €1 billion with operations across 12 countries. Overseas operations contribute about 60 per cent of its revenue.
