Deccan Cargo sees share sale as funding new brand, Deccan 360

DECCAN Cargo & Express Logistics Pvt Ltd wants to sell some 25 per cent of itself to cover operations costs of its new brand Deccan 360, said the company's owner and founder GR Gopinath.

Under the new name, the company is to commence air freight operations on May 27, connecting New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hong Kong and Dubai, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Deccan 360 will lease three Airbus A310 freighters and six smaller turboprop planes made by Avions de Transport Regional (ATR). It also plans a warehousing hub at Nagpur and says it will deploy its own trucks.

The company is 100 per cent mine and I have invested US$25 million in it, Mr Gopinath told reporters at a news conference to formally launch the company.

But Mr Gopinath, who founded Air Deccan, India's first budget airline, in no rush to sell and will only do so when the market improves and valuations are higher.

Working capital needs will probably run to $30 million over the coming six months as working capital, he said, but declined to say whether he was talking to any investors.

India's domestic express-cargo market is valued at $625 million a year and is expected to grow 20 per cent annually for five years, said Deccan 360 chief executive Jude Fonseka.

Source: Transportweekly