The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is weighing an investment of up to $150 million in NDR InvIT Trust, a warehousing infrastructure investment trust, according to a disclosure.
The investment, which is in the form of a senior secured loan, will be used to expand InvIT’s capacity to buy additional warehousing space from the sponsor’s development company as well as from third-party developers, and replace legacy debt at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level with long-term debt at the InvIT level, the disclosure said.
The InvIT’s sponsor and principal shareholder is NDR Warehousing Private Limited (NDRWPL), one of the largest developers of greenfield warehousing space in India. Its second-largest shareholder is Investcorp, a global investor in the logistics space.
The sponsors of NDR Group previously owned Continental Warehousing Corporation Nhava (Seva) Limited., an IFC client, which was subsequently acquired by DP World and NIIF, as per the disclosure.
The NDR InvIT currently owns and manages around 17 million square feet (sq. ft) of warehousing space across 13 locations in India including Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. The InvIT’s business model is to own and manage warehouses where the construction is complete and customer contracts have been secured.
Recently, the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) invested Rs 745 crore in long-term bonds issued by NDR InvIT to support the latter’s growth strategy, including the development of industrial parks and warehousing facilities across India’s key economic corridors.
India’s logistics and warehousing sector is witnessing rapid growth. According to a report by Motilal Oswal, the Indian logistics market, valued at Rs 9 lakh crore in FY23, is projected to grow to Rs 13.4 lakh crore by FY28, registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8-9%.
