PE-backed Snowman launches India IPO

Anchor investors - including private equity firm Faering Capital and several hedge funds - subscribed to 9.45 million shares at INR47 apiece, raising INR444 million. The pricing is at the upper end of the indicative range. Faering, which is investing via its India Evolving Fund, picked 3.49 million shares for INR16.4 million.

Norwest Venture Partners, which took a 14% stake in Snowman in June last year for INR600 million ($10.4 million), will see its stake fall to 10.21%. International Finance Corporation put in $5.35 million in 2009 and then part-exited earlier this year by selling a quarter of its holding to the promoter for INR180 million.

Currently the majority shareholder is Gateway Distriparks, which owns around 54%, while Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation together hold over 14%.

Set up in 1997, Bangalore-headquartered Snowman offers temperature-controlled storage and transportation solutions for a number of a multinational corporations operating in India, particularly in the food and beverage sector. Its clients include the likes of Unilever, Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut and Mother Dairy.

The company has around 23 temperature-controlled warehouses across 14 locations nationwide, and a fleet 238 reefer vehicles - of which 63 are owned and the rest leased. The business claims to be India's first cold-chain company with a nationwide footprint, connecting more than 100 cities and distributing to more than 4,400 outlets.

Snowman reported a net profit of INR232 million for the 12 months ended March 2014, against a net profit of INR198 million for the previous year. Net revenue rose from INR1.14 billion to INR1.53 billion over the same period.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Exits
• India
• Consumer
• IFC
• Norwest Venture Partners
• Exit
• IPO