India's Allcargo Logistics eyes potential stake sale in ECU Worldwide

The firm is looking to raise funds and has appointed Jefferies Financial to evaluate options

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Cargo and air freight logistics firm ECU Worldwide is looking to raise funds and has appointed Jefferies Financial to evaluate options, its Mumbai-based parent Allcargo Logistics said on Tuesday.

The Indian company is working with an adviser on a potential minority or majority stake sale and is seeking a deal that would value ECU at about $1 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Monday evening.

"It is premature to comment on what percentage of stake we will actually sell and at what value," Allcargo Chief Strategy Officer Ravi Jakhar told Reuters.

ECU worldwide, a unit of Allcargo Logistics, offers cargo or container space on ships to customers across the globe. It has a nearly 40% market share in ocean freight consolidation in the Nordic region.

 

On valuation, Jakhar said the company does not have any guidance and any numbers mentioned by any third party are "purely speculative".

Shares of Allcargo Logistics rose as much as 4% on Tuesday, but gave up gains and was trading down about 0.8% by 0710 GMT amid a drop in the broader market.

 

(Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)