Trikona Capital Group, an asset management firm in the infrastructure and realty sectors, is looking to enter the logistics space.
Aashish Kalra, managing partner, Trikona Capital, said the company has already made significant progress in its logistics foray. “We will soon be launching a new entity for our entry into the logistics business,” he said. This new entity will be officially announced in the next six months, Kalra added.
In the interim, activities under this business will be under Trikona Logistics, a part of the company’s infrastructure division. Kalra intends to create a logistics model that will have its own infrastructure and will also do third-party logistics (3PL).
The entity will partner with companies operating in logistics infrastructure areas such as
roads, marine transport, warehousing, manufacturing and SEZs etc. In October 2006, Trikona bought 2.5% stake in IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL), an initiative for developing transportation infrastructure of 8,000 km across India, for Rs 40 crore.
The PE firm also has exposure to Nikhil Gandhi’s Pipavav Shipyard Ltd. It is understood to have acquired, in January 2007, a 10.4% stake in Pipavav, a shipbuilding and repairing services provider, from SKIL for Rs 114.2 crore. Trikona also took a minority stake in Gandhi’s firm Horizon Countrywide Logistics Ltd. SKIL chairman Nikhil Gandhi was not available for comment.
Source: DNA India