Blackstone’s Horizon Industrial Parks to Manage Indian Government Sheds

Blackstone-backed Horizon Industrial Parks has been selected by the Indian government as the lead partner to manage a portfolio of 13 last-mile logistics assets.

Horizon, which is owned and managed by the US private equity giant’s real estate funds, will redevelop the state-owned assets into modern facilities over the course of a 45-year partnership, according to a Monday announcement.

Public operator Central Warehousing Corporation owns the 13 sheds, which have a development potential of 2.4 million square feet (222,967 square metres). The investment commitment is estimated at INR 7 billion ($83 million).

“Logistics is one of Blackstone’s highest conviction investment themes around the world including in the growing market of India, where we bring scale, operational expertise, and a track record of success,” said Asheesh Mohta, the firm’s head of real estate acquisitions for India. “We will bring the best of Blackstone and Horizon and work closely with the CWC to create best-in-class warehouses that provide efficient delivery solutions.”

Committed to Urbanisation

CWC has a 50 percent equity stake in 19 state warehousing corporations operating a network of 2,205 sheds with a total storage capacity of 50.4 million metric tonnes. CWC itself operates 458 facilities through 14 regional offices and four satellite offices.

The 13 redevelopment assets are concentrated near residential areas and city centres across the National Capital Region, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore, representing one of the largest last-mile logistics portfolios in India, according to Horizon.

CWC managing director Amit Kumar Singh said the corporation and Horizon share a commitment to operational excellence and supporting India’s rapid urbanisation.

“We are pleased to partner with Horizon Industrial Parks, backed by Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager and one of the most prominent owners of high-quality logistics globally, to monetise CWC’s assets into modern warehouses catered to some of India’s top brands,” Singh said.

Vacancy at the Top

Mumbai-based Horizon has been without a CEO since Rahul Pandit left the post late last year.

After acquiring the joint venture then known as Embassy Industrial Parks from Warburg Pincus and local titan Embassy Group in May 2021 in what was reported to be a $700 million deal, Blackstone has built the business through acquisitions and new development projects.

Having established his career in the hospitality sector, Pandit joined the industrial venture a half-year after the Embassy Industrial Parks acquisition, and just one month before the platform was relaunched as Horizon Industrial Parks in January 2022.

Horizon and its affiliates manage 25 industrial and logistics parks spanning an area of 43 million square feet in 10 key markets of the world’s most populous nation.