Gateway Distriparks Group merger & amalgamation process on track

Gateway Distriparks Ltd (GDL) had announced an amalgamation scheme between GDL and its subsidiaries Gateway Rail Freight Ltd and Gateway East India Pvt. Ltd in September 2020. Now, both NSE and BSE have conveyed their “No-objection” on March 12, 2021, enabling the company to go ahead with filing of the draft scheme with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The company, Gateway Rail Freight Ltd and Gateway East India Pvt. Ltd have filed the Joint Company Application in relation to the Scheme with NCLT on March 14, 2021 to begin the next step of the process, informed a release.

Mr Prem Kishan Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, commented, “This brings us closer to completing our amalgamation process. This amalgamation will result in creating enhanced value for our shareholders due to greater operational synergies and efficiencies, and we will be able to offer our customers a wider range of locations and services in a single platform.”

The merged entity will have 4 rail-linked inland container depots for ex-im business, a domestic rail terminal in Navi Mumbai, 6 container freight stations spread across the country, and a combined fleet strength of 31 train sets and over 500 road trailers. In addition, the combined cash flows will enable the merged entity to accelerate debt reduction while at the same time allowing it to continue upon its expansion plans to build a wider network of rail terminals to further expand along the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, the release said.

About GDL

Gateway Distriparks Ltd is an integrated intermodal logistics service provider. It operates four container freight stations located at Navi Mumbai, Chennai, and Krishnapatnam, and two container freight stations at Kochi and Visakhapatnam through its subsidiaries Gateway Distriparks (Kerala) Ltd and Gateway East India Pvt. Ltd, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, it also owns a fleet of 193 trailers for transportation between maritime ports and the CFSs. In addition, its subsidiary, Gateway Rail Freight Ltd (GRFL), provides container rail transportation service between the maritime ports at Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Pipavav, and the four inland container depots owned and operated by it at Gurugram, Ludhiana, Faridabad and Viramgam, and additionally operates a domestic terminal at Navi Mumbai. As of December 31, 2020, GRFL operates a fleet of 31 trainsets along with 338 trailers, which facilitate last-mile pick-up and delivery of cargo, the release added.