Infra.Market in talks to raise $150 million from Varde Partners

Corporates have started to contribute to the capex upcycle, as per ICICI Securities

Construction materials marketplace unicorn Infra.Market is in advanced-level discussions to raise around $150 million from US-based Varde Partners, multiple industry sources in the know told Moneycontrol.

"The proposed capital raise will be via issuance of convertible instruments. If discussions fructify into an eventual deal, an official announcement can be expected shortly," said one of the persons above.

A second person told Moneycontrol that a part of the funds was likely to be used by Infra.Market to acquire a majority stake in Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt Ltd from US Based Glen Raven Inc. a global leader in technical and performance textiles. He added that Infra.Market was planning an initial public offer (IPO) in the next two years.

"The planned buyout would add to the capabilities of Infra.Market and expand its product portfolio. The firm's strategy is to create a suite of diverse products for its customer base," a third person told Moneycontrol.

A fourth person said that the proposed target, Strata Geosystems, is a category leader in India in the geo-textiles space and would facilitate environmentally-sustainable production by Infra.Market and help the latter to reduce its carbon footprint.

All four persons above spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity.

Infra.Market, Varde Partners, Glen Raven & Strata Geosystems were unavailable for immediate comment.

Moneycontrol has sent email queries and this article will be updated as soon as we hear from the parties.

Infra.Market was founded by Souvik Sengupta and Aaditya Sharda in 2016 and is backed by the likes of Accel Partners, Evolvence India, Nexus Venture Partners and others.

Varde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm specialising in credit and credit-related assets.

Strata is a leading player in geosynthetic manufacturing and soil reinforcement technology. The firm addresses the needs of the infrastructure sector for such applications as retaining walls, reinforced soil slopes and embankments in highways, landfills, mines, railways, ports and container yards.

Infra.Market’s Expansion Strategy

Infra.Market is present across various building material product categories such as cement, walling products, paint, chemicals, steel and tiles, and has achieved category leadership in segments such as concrete and stone materials. In a majority of the product categories, the company operates its own private labels.

In 2022, it bought a concrete manufacturing company, RDC Concrete, from private equity firm Truenorth for Rs 700 crore, which propelled the firm to become one of the largest suppliers of concrete in India, it said.

Infra.Market also bought a strategic stake in the listed entity Shalimar Paints, making a foray into industrial and decorative paints.

During FY22, the company also ventured into a new business vertical focusing on creating a platform for speciality chemicals under the brand Chemical.Market, it said.

Also read: Accel-backed Infra.Market's profit grows nearly 6X in FY22 on strong revenue growth