A man is silhouetted in front of the logo of German media group Bertelsmann in Berlin, Germany, March 22, 2016. REUTERS
BERLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – German media and services group Bertelsmann has taken a majority stake in Indian logistics platform Lets Transport, hoping to build on its presence in India as an important growth market, the head of its investment division told Reuters.
“We now have 80%,” Bertelsmann Investments CEO Carsten Coesfeld said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Bertelsmann, which owns publisher Penguin Random House and is also active in services and education, has held a stake in Lets Transport since late 2018.
The logistics company was founded in 2015 and connects truck drivers with corporate clients across India.
“The market for Lets Transport is worth $14 billion, with an annual growth rate of around 11% — but 90% of it is unorganised,” Coesfeld said.
Bertelsmann sees India in general as a key growth market. “It is highly attractive. We are convinced of its potential,” he added.
He declined to give details on the investment.
A person familiar with the matter said Bertelsmann’s investment amounted to a high double-digit million-dollar sum and that, in a hypothetical sale, Lets Transport could be valued at a three-digit million-dollar sum.
This is Bertelsmann’s first strategic acquisition in India.
Coesfeld said he could imagine buying more assets across the supply chain of Lets Transport – which he described as a kind of Uber for logistics – such as warehouses.
Reporting by Klaus Lauer; Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Susan Fenton
