



BlackRock-backed GIP mulls IPOs for Pristine, Ascend at $500 mn valuations
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the infrastructure fund manager that BlackRock Inc. acquired for $12.5 billion two years ago, is exploring initial public offerings (IPOs) for two of the companies in its Indian portfolio, logistics operator Pristine Logistics & Infraprojects Ltd and tower company Ascend Telecom Infrastructure Pvt.
Ltd, at valuations of about ₹5,000 crore ($500 million) each, people in the know said.The firm is reaching out to bankers and advisers to understand the interest in offerings, though formal mandates have not yet been awarded, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are not yet public.GIP manages investments in the energy, transport, digital, and water sectors. Its India operations focus on telecommunications, airports, and midstream energy.The proposed IPOs mark a refreshed push by GIP to monetize assets it has held for several years.
Pristine, which operates five multi-modal logistics parks including private rail freight terminals and inland container depots, previously filed IPO documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in May 2022 before abandoning that effort. GIP has a 57% stake in the logistics operator after its 2018 takeover of IDFC Alternative's infrastructure investment business, which originally owned Pristine.Ascend, which manages more than 19,000 telecom tower sites and more than 6,000 small cell sites, became the country's fourth-largest tower company after acquiring Tower Vision India for approximately $400 million in 2023.Plans remain at an early stage and could change with the market conditions, the people said.
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