The Hindu Business Line : Allcargo Movers sells 6% equity to US fund

ALLCARGO Movers (I) Pvt. Ltd, a shipping and freight forwarding company, said here on Friday that it had concluded the sale of six per cent of its equity for Rs 60 crore to New Vernon, a US-based private equity fund.

The US fund had valued the Mumbai-based company at Rs 1,000 crore. This is the first instance of equity dilution by the privately-held company.

The proceeds of the equity sale will be used by Allcargo to set up container freight stations in Chennai, Mundra and Delhi. IndAsia Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd was the sole advisor to the transaction.

Allcargo Movers, established in 1993, is a logistic service provider — the largest non-vessel owning common carrier and multi-modal transport operator — in the country. The core businesses of Allcargo include multi-modal transport operations, cargo consolidation, container freight stations and handling of project cargo.

In June 2005, Allcargo had acquired 33.8 per cent stake in ECU Hold NV, a Belguim-based multinational in the same business. With its head office in Antwerp, ECU caters to 5,000 destinations worldwide.The turnover of the ECU group is in excess of 180 million euros. Allcargo has the option to raise its stake in ECU Hold to 49.99 per cent.

ECU Hold owns and operates warehouses/ container freight stations in Antwerp, Dubai, Hong Kong, Italy, Brazil, France and other locations. ECU Hold has 150 offices spread over Europe, Latin America, North America, Africa, East Asia, West Asia, the Pacific and the Indian subcontinent. Mr Shashi Kiran Shetty, promoter of Allcargo Movers, has been appointed Vice-Chairman of ECU Hold group.

Allcargo Movers had posted a net profit of Rs 24 crore on a sale of Rs 232 crore for 2004-05.