PARTNERS GROUP HOLDING AG
Press release
Mumbai, India; 16 December 2020
Partners Group to invest over USD 250 million to acquire equity stake in Ecom Express, a significant player in India's e-commerce ecosystem
Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, has agreed to acquire a significant equity stake in Ecom Express Private Limited ("Ecom" or "the Company"), one of the largest providers of technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions to the Indian e-commerce industry, on behalf of its clients.
Following the acquisition, Partners Group will (on behalf of its clients) become an equal shareholder in Ecom to existing investor Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm focused on growth investing. CDC Group, the UK's development finance institution, and Ecom's founders will hold the remainder of the equity in the Company.
Founded in 2012, Ecom provides logistics services in over 2,650 towns across 27,000+ pin codes in India, covering 95%+ of India's population. Its clients include India's largest e-commerce players, with the Company delivering almost 1 million shipments per day via 2,800 delivery centres.
Following the investment, Partners Group will work closely with Ecom's experienced management team, led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, TA Krishnan, and with existing investors, on several key strategic initiatives to support the Company's ongoing growth. These will include continued investment in automation, data sciences and technology to further enhance service quality, efficiency and productivity across delivery processes. Another key area of focus will be expanding the Company's product offerings in express logistics and fulfillment services.
TA Krishnan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ecom, says: "We have worked hard over the last eight years to build Ecom into India's top provider of logistics solutions to the e-commerce industry. As the market expands, investing in and developing our operations and customer satisfaction will be key to maintaining our market-leading position. Partners Group's entrepreneurial ownership style and experience working with high growth e-commerce businesses make the firm an ideal partner for us together with Warburg Pincus."
Manas Tandon, Managing Director, Head Private Equity Asia, Partners Group, adds: "Ecom is an outstanding company supported by strong transformative trends around digitization and the increase of e-commerce. We look forward to working with Ecom's management team and our partners at Warburg Pincus to further build Ecom's distribution network, as well as bring new offerings to market to increase customer stickiness."
Viraj Sawhney, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus, says: "We feel proud of the industry leadership position built by Ecom over the past few years driven by a scalable and proprietary technology platform, culture of high-quality execution, and focus on profitability. We welcome Partners Group and look forward to working with them and other investors in supporting the management team led by Krishnan to accelerate growth and drive further transformation in Indian logistics."
Vageesh Gupta, Member of Management, Private Equity Asia, Partners Group, adds: "Higher levels of disposable income, wide-spread urbanization and changing consumer behavior are accelerating the growth trajectory of e-commerce in India, a trend that has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Ecom has a strong distribution network and high levels of operational excellence and is therefore well-positioned to capitalize on this as we build out the business."
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