IDFC PE injects $30m into Staragri Warehousing

The investment, which represents IDFC PE's first in this sector, was channeled via the firm's $650 million third fund.

IDFC PE now holds a minority stake in Jaipur-based Staragri, which was founded in 2006 and is engaged in warehousing, procurement and collateral management of agri commodities. It is active in 10 states and operates 750 warehouses with a cumulative capacity of around 1 million tonnes. It also provides services such as testing, certification and transportation and has links with 50,000 farmers.

The company will use the capital to expand its warehouse network from the current 1-3 million tons across 10 states. It will also create a cross-country network of post-harvest management services, add new loan products and expand its lab facilities.

India's agri services businesses have received few investments from private equity firms in recent years. One of the main deals of note was International Finance Corporation's provision of $7.5 million in equity and $13 million in debt for integrated supply chain and risk management services provider National Collateral Management Services (NCMSL) back in 2010. A large warehouse operator, NCMSL used the funding to increase its agri-commodity storage capacity.

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Industrials
• South Asia
• Agriculture
• India
• IDFC Private Equity
• IFC