Infra.Market buys majority stake in textilemaker Strata Geosystems

Infra.Market is also close to raising $150 million via convertible notes

Infra.Market has bought a majority stake in technical textile manufacturer Strata Geosystems for an enterprise value of Rs 910 crore, the construction materials marketplace unicorn said on June 26.

Infra.Market signed definitive documents to acquire majority ownership in Strata Geosystems (India) Pvt Ltd from US-based Glen Raven Technical Fabrics LLC, a global manufacturer in technical and performance textiles, and a group of other Indian shareholders, the statement said.

"The acquisition of Strata further enhances our capabilities in offering solutions across geosynthetics and related engineering and emboldens our vision to revolutionise the construction ecosystem across all product lines and services,” Infra.Market co-founder Aaditya Sharda said.

Geosynthetics are a range of man-made products used in civil engineering to strengthen or stabilise a structure or terrain. They are finding growing use for their ability to solve problems in construction projects.

The transaction also involves Strata India buying the entire 100 percent stake in the geosynthetics business of Glen Raven in the US, the company said.

The operating shareholders of the company CEO Narendra Dalmia and chief development officer Gautam Dalmia will continue to remain invested and lead the global operations at Strata, the company added.

The acquisition comes a week after Moneycontrol reported that Infra.Market is in advanced discussions to raise around $150 million from US-based Varde Partners through convertible instruments.

The unicorn, a private company valued at a billion dollars or more, was planning to use a part of the funds to acquire stake in Strata.

Strata, an early entrant in the technical textile sector in India, has scaled to become one of the largest geosynthetic manufacturing companies that specialise in soil reinforcement technology. The company provides sustainable materials across sectors such as highways, landfills, mines, railways, ports, container yards and more.

Avendus Capital was the exclusive sell-side transaction adviser to the shareholders of Strata.

A concrete mix

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

The company last raised funds in July 2022 at a valuation of $2.5 billion. The unicorn is also among the few profitable ones in India and had a profit of Rs 186 crore in FY22, with an operating revenue of Rs 6,236 crore.

Infra.Market is present across 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 ventured into a new business vertical focusing on creating a platform for speciality chemicals under the brand Chemical.Market, it said.

"Geosynthetics are new-age construction products that offer tremendous carbon savings and aid in sustainable construction goals. We have been at the forefront of advancing the adoption of these products in India and have successfully developed them in several infrastructure sectors such as highways, container yards, etc," Narendra Dalmia said.

While what they built was industry-defining, Infra.Market would further aid and accelerate their vision of taking geosynthetics to every construction project and build a global category leader, he added.