KKR to acquire majority stake in pallet pooling platform Leap India

Private equity major KKR on Wednesday said it is acquiring a majority stake in Leap India, a leading pallet-pooling platform in India.

While KKR did not disclose the acquisition cost, banking sources peg it at around $275 million (Rs. 2,225 crore approx).

Founded in 2013 by Sunu Mathew, Leap India provides various supply-chain solutions, including equipment pooling, returnable packaging, inventory management and movement, transportation, and repair and maintenance. It does so to customers across e-commerce, consumer durables, beverages, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and automotive.

The company operates a network of 21 warehouses and more than 3,500 customer locations. It manages more than 6 million total assets, including pallets and containers, across India, for its customers. 

“We are pleased to invest in Leap, which will play an important role in driving the country’s continued modernisation and growth. Leap is supporting this shift by providing the critical assets needed for manufacturing, storage, and movement of goods in supply chains. And in doing so, it helps companies to be better equipped to improve the environmental impact of their operations,” said Ami Momaya, director, infrastructure, KKR.

KKR is making this investment as part of its Asia infrastructure strategy.

Earlier, KKR had acquired Serentica Renewables, a decarbonisation platform. Serentica seeks to provide complex clean-energy solutions for energy-intensive, hard-to-abate industries.

It also acquired Hero Future Energies, an independent power producer and the renewable energy arm of the Hero Group. Other companies KKR acquired include Highways Infrastructure Trust, a roads infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy platform in India and IndiGrid, an infrastructure InvIT.