Western Carriers files DRHP for ₹500 crore IPO

Kolkata-based logistics company Western Carriers (India) Limited has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to ₹500 crore.

The IPO will consist of a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to ₹500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 9.33 million shares by promoter Rajendra Sethia. The issue price has not yet been fixed.

The proceeds from the IPO will be used to prepay debt, fund capital expenditure and for general corporate purposes.

The company may consider a pre-IPO placement for up to ₹100 crore. If such placement is completed, the fresh issue size will be reduced.

Western Carriers is India's largest private, multi-modal, rail focused, 4PL asset-light logistics company. It has over 50 years of experience in road, rail and sea/river multi-modal movement for domestic as well as EXIM cargo in and out of India.

The book running lead managers to the issue are JM Financial Limited and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company.

As of Fiscal 2022, the Western Carriers’ revenue from operations was ₹1,470 crore, with a PAT of ₹61 crore.

The company has a customer base of over 1100 across varied sectors such as metals and mining, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, building materials, chemicals, oil and gas, utilities and others.

Western has a pan-India presence through over 50 branch offices and four zonal offices across 23 states in India. The company’s warehouses are located across 10 states and it operates at over 55 major public rake handling points spread across India. Its pan-India presence allows it to provide both first-mile and last-mile connectivity to its customers who have operations across India, including in remote areas. In Fiscal 2022, Western Carriers (India) Limited operated the largest volumes of containers by an asset-light logistics player.

The equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.