Infra.Market, the Tiger Global-backed marketplace for construction materials which achieved unicorn status in February, has agreed to acquire RDC Concrete from private equity firm True North, the firms said today.
The companies did not disclose financial details but a person familiar with the transaction said that the deal was approximately $100 million (Rs 736.7 crore) in size.
This is Infra.Market’s second acquisition after it acquired a majority stake in Hyderabad-based construction equipment rental service Equiphunt in May for $10 million.
The company last raised $125 million in August 2021 which valued the firm at $2.25 billion.
“Concrete was one of the first product categories we started with where we believed technology and an enhanced customer experience would enable us to build a differentiated offering in the sector. Today’s acquisition of RDC is a significant benchmark for us as we have successfully reached a category-defining position in the concrete industry and become a market leader,” Souvik Sengupta, founder of Infra.Market, said.
“We will continue to grow and build the concrete vertical both within Infra.Market and at RDC,” he added. Infra.Market is backed by investors including Accel, Nexus Venture Partners, Evolvence India Fund, Sistema Asia Fund and Foundamental Gmbh, in addition to Tiger Global.
True North acquired a majority stake in RDC, a non-cement ready-mix concrete business, in 2005 and invested in tranches over the years. By 2014, the firm owned over 99% stake in the business.
Ashish Bhargava, partner at True North, said that True North’s investment in RDC was an example of the firm‘s “buy and build” philosophy. “RDC has grown exponentially over the last decade, and we see this growth accelerate with a committed partner like Infra.Market,” Bhargava said.
RDC has 52 production plants across India and serves various construction, infrastructure, real estate, industrial and commercial projects, the company said.
The company’s net sales had grown to Rs 723.9 crore for the year ended March 2020, up from Rs 657.2 crore a year-ago period. However, its profit after tax declined to Rs 3.5 crore from Rs 14.4 crore during the same period.
“Ready-mix concrete is essentially a people’s business. Therefore, we nurtured and developed a strong talent pipeline and established technology-enabled processes suitable for our business needs,” said Anil Banchhor, managing director and chief executive of RDC whose FY21 financials were not available.
