Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure acquires stake in LEAP India, for $25 million investment

BENGALURU: Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure has made an investment of Rs 180 crore (US$ 25 Million) to acquire a stake in LEAP.
Founded by Mr. Sunu Mathew in 2013, LEAP is India’s largest pallet pooling company with an asset pool of approx. 4 million units including pallets, foldable large containers (FLC), crates and utility boxes.

“This is the single largest round of investment raised by LEAP. Now with Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure as a partner, LEAP aims to achieve a total asset pool of 6 million and provide technologically advanced products to the market, ” Sunu Mathew, Founder Promoter and Managing Director of LEAP India, said.

LEAP’s business is linked to India’s consumption story and primarily caters to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables, beverages, e-commerce, retail, auto and auto- component manufacturing sectors.

“Given its unique business model and the criticality of its assets, for both storage and transportation, LEAP has been able to navigate the COVID-19 situation successfully and has emerged stronger with an increased market share. In terms of market opportunity, India is hugely under-penetrated in terms of palletization. With our investment, we expect that LEAP will further consolidate its market-leading position”, said Shyamsundar Gurumoorthy, Managing Director and Co-Head of Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure.

LEAP provides timber pallets and plastic utility boxes on lease and helps in integrating the supply chain across suppliers, manufacturers, 3PL service providers and retailers. LEAP has a large footprint in India catering to over 600 customers and 7000 touch-points from a pan-India network of 18 warehouses.

LEAP’s pooling business model is based on sharing and re-use of assets, underscoring the growing importance of sustainability in business practices. LEAP also offers returnable packaging solutions to companies in the manufacturing and e-commerce sectors.