Future Supply Chains, a privately held logistics firm of Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, is acquiring Delhi-based food logistics firm Brattle Foods Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
Brattle, which was started by three Harvard graduates - Kunal Agarwal, Kiran Reddy Pendri and Mrinal Sinha, serves the back-end of quick service restaurant (QSRs) chains, frozen food processing firms and modern retailers, with services spanning from warehousing, trucking and cold storage to purchasing and distribution. It operates through its own infrastructure besides its subsidiary Laxman Logistics.
The news was first reported by The Economic Times, which pegged the deal value at around Rs 125 crore ($20 million).
Anshuman Singh, managing director and CEO, Future Supply Chains, said in an email reply to VCCircle, “This acquisition and merger will complement the existing modern technology and automation based supply chain capability of Future Supply Chains in the Food and FMCG domain.”
He added that it will enable FSC to address the frozen, chilled and cold warehousing requirements coupled with the reefer transportation requirements across the country for its customers in the food domain. “It will also create immediate capability to serve the temperature controlled logistics requirements of the food parks and retail chains of the Future Group,” he said.
Future Group is setting up a string of food parks where it would lease units for other manufacturers besides getting into food processing itself both to supply to its own retail chains and also to sell through small retailers. The first of these was opened recently in Tumkur, outside Bangalore.
"The implementation of GST will be a further game changer in this space and this cold chain network can integrate into FSC's existing GST ready network of 3.5 million square feet modern warehousing and a pan India Express Transport Network and provides a unique GST ready cold as well as ambient supply chain capability to all its customers", said Singh from Future Group.
Brattle, which started in 2010, had brought on board Gaurav Dalmia-led investment firm GTI Capital as an investor. GTI had put in around $7 million in Brattle Foods. In addition it had scooped some money from Epiphany Ventures.
It is not immediately clear if GTI is exiting in the transaction or swapping some or all of its shares in Brattle with a small stake in Future Supply Chains.
Brattle faces competition from companies like Radhakrishna Food Services and also from those like ColdEX and Snowman Logistics, both operating in cold chain logistics space, a vertical where Brattle specialises.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
