Welspun promoters in talks to sell stake in warehousing firm Welspun One

Welspun One currently has around 16 million square feet of Grade-A warehousing space in its portfolio, and has around 8 million sq ft in its pipeline

The promoters of the textiles-to-infrastructure Welspun Group, the Goenka family, are exploring options to dilute their stake in warehousing and logistics firm Welspun One, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Welspun One, which has a number of warehousing assets located in key markets in India and runs alternative investment funds, has been planning to raise more funds, aiming to take its assets under management (AUM) to $1 billion by 2026.

"The promoters are in direct talks with overseas investors, including some Japanese investors, and no banks are said to be involved. They are looking to dilute their stake, but they may also look to fully exit the Welspun One platform at the GP (general partner) level based on the talks," said a source aware of the developments.

Moneycontrol has reached out to the Welspun Group and Welspun One for comment on the matter, and the report will be updated if and when their responses are received.

Welspun One, which started operations around five years ago with a warehousing project in Bhiwandi, on the outskirts of Mumbai, now has around 16 million square feet in grade-A warehousing space across markets like the Mumbai metropolitan region, National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and elsewhere. It has raised two funds, having partially exited the assets that were financed by the first fund, worth around $100 million.

In a recent statement, Welspun One pointed to demand in the e-commerce and quick commerce segments in India as reasons for optimism in the warehousing segment in India, as well as the arrival of new investments.

Expansion plans

The company is now looking to raise around Rs 4,000 crore in capital, in line with its aim to double its current portfolio of Grade-A warehousing space to around 32 million square feet by 2028. The firm has a pipeline of around 8 million square feet across various markets, Welspun One said in a statement.

Looking for opportunities in the e-commerce and quick commerce market, Welspun One recently launched the World Trade Center (WTC) in Thane, and partnered with the World Trade Centers Association for a licensing agreement. Welspun One is investing around Rs 800 crore in the project, located at Wagle Estate in Thane, which will include an urban distribution centre, as well as retail and offices, with a total area of around 1 million square feet.

The potential

Warehousing transactions in India have been on the upswing, as key clients such as manufacturing, e-commerce, quick commerce, and third-party logistics players have scrambled to lease well-located logistics facilities in or near key cities.

According to a report from Colliers, industrial and warehousing space demand rose 17 percent year-on-year in the January-September period. The marquee transaction in the space this year was a near-Rs 13,000 crore investment into Reliance Retail Ventures' warehousing assets by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and KKR, through a mix of debt and equity.

In September, Blackstone's Horizon Industrial Park committed an investment of Rs 782 crore to upgrade and operate warehouses belonging to the Central Warehousing Corporation over a 45-year period, in a deal brokered by Knight Frank. More recently, IndoSpace sold around 2.5 million square feet of warehousing space to Alta Capital, the Indian operating partner of Singapore-based asset management firm Hillhouse Investments, for around $100 million.