Agarwal Packers to offload 10% equity for Rs 100 crore

Logistics player Agarwal Packers and Movers is looking to raise up to Rs 100 crore by selling a minority stake to private equity funds to fuel its expansion plans.
"We are looking to raise around Rs 100 crore and will not be selling more than 10-12 per cent stake," its Chairman and Managing Director Ramesh Agarwal told PTI.
He said the company, which already has a fleet of over 1,200 trucks operating across the country, has a Rs 245 crore capital expansion plan over the next three years.
Bulk of the investment will be for the newly started 'cubes' business, wherein it is giving companies the option to ferry low-volume but high value cargo across the country.

It has already appointed a merchant banker to raise the money and is targeting to complete the fund-raising in a few months, Agarwal said.
Earlier, the company was planning to raise Rs 160 crore, but now it has revised it down to Rs 100 crore, he said.

The company is also planning to hit the markets with an initial public offer in two years' time, he said.
The 'cubes' are aimed at helping those with smaller consignments, which are too small for standard 2-footer containers, he said, adding that it will also do away with the current practice of trans-shipment which can result in damages.

He cited an example of a pharma company, which is forced to book its consignment with a transporter. The consignment goes through multiple warehouses before it reaches the destination.
"We are giving them cubes in multiple sizes of 4 ft, 6 ft, 8 ft etc. The company will put all the goods into the cube and lock it himself. He can share the digital lock code with the delivery address person," he explained.
It has 500 such cubes at present and plans to take it up to 1,000 by the end of the year. In three years, it has plans to take this up to 5,000 cubes, he said, adding that each such cube costs an average of Rs 88,000.

The company has decided not to invest in trucks any more and will depend on third parties for that purposes, he added.