Partners Group invests $250m in India's Ecom Express
Partners Group has committed at least $250 million to Indian door-to-door delivery specialist Ecom Express, facilitating a partial exit for controlling shareholder Warburg Pincus.
The deal will result in Partners Group and Warburg Pincus having equal stakes in the business, reportedly 35% each. Warburg Pincus currently holds 75%, having invested about $164 million between 2015 and 2017. UK investor CDC Group, which committed $36 million last year, and Ecom’s founders will hold the remaining equity.
Ecom is one of India’s largest e-commerce and TV shopping logistics providers, with capabilities spanning service fulfillment, reverse logistics, and cash-on-delivery management services. Operations cover some 2,650 towns, representing more than 95% of India’s population, and involve more than one million shipments a day via 2,800 delivery centers.
“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,” Vageesh Gupta, a senior vice president at Partners Group, said in a statement. “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.”
Partners Group said post-investment plans included a technology buildout in areas such as automation and data science, as well as an expansion of the service offering in express logistics and fulfillment. Much of the focus is around improving customer experience to fend off competition as India's e-commerce logistics space heats up.
Chennai-based VC firm Peepul Capital was one of the first investors in Ecom, acquiring a majority stake for $16.4 million in 2014. It was said to have recorded a more than 6x return on its investment the following year. Local angel investor Oliphans Capital provided seed funding as early as 2013.
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