International Finance Corporation, the private lending arm of the World Bank, has invested Rs 24.89 crore in Snowman Frozen Foods Ltd, a subsidiary of Mumbai-based container-freight station operator Gateway Distriparks Ltd (GDL).
In a parallel deal, GDL has acquired an additional 16.29% shareholding in SFFL from existing investor Mitsubishi Corporation (MC). Post this acquisition, GDL’s stake in SFFL will be 53.21% while IFC will hold 19.9%, said a company statement. The other investors in SFFL--Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation (MIC) and Nichirei Logistics Group Inc--hold 25.92%.
In November 2009, GDL has raised Rs 300 crore from private equity major Blackstone in Gateway Rail Freight Ltd (GRFL), a container train unit of Gateway.
SFFL is a cold chain logistics business with a pan-India network. GDL acquired 50.1% stake in SFFL in 2006, making its foray in cold chain business. It is currently operational with 16 cold stores in cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Goa, Kochi, Hyderabad and Ludhiana.
