Many private equity investors are rallying around Atmanirbhar Bharat – an Indian government policy advocating economic self-reliance – and channelling more capital into deals linked to onshoring. KKR is making a parallel bet on rising imports.

Its investment in Cisternina, a bulk liquid and gas storage and logistics business, plays into the energy story that underpins India’s transformation. There will be bigger ports, more crude imports, new refineries, rising petrochemicals production, and broader liquefied petroleum gas distribution.

“The overall push on manufacturing in India has driven demand for a lot of bulk liquid imports,” said Ravi Thanvi, an India-based director for real assets at KKR.

“Most of the materials – like specialty chemicals, edible oils, bulk liquids – are part of the global supply chain and are sourced from overseas destinations. They require storage at ports, which is why the industry has seen steady growth in recent years.”

India accounts for a fraction of a global bulk liquid logistics market that will be worth USD 131.4bn by 2034, according to Fortune Business Insights. But it’s projected 7.1% compound annual growth over the coming eight years comfortably exceeds the global figure of 4.1%.

Cisternina will be held in KKR’s third Asia Pacific infrastructure fund, which reached a first close of USD 6.6bn in September against a reported target of USD 9bn. KKR declined to comment on fundraising.

The two-year-old company doesn’t have any existing standalone hard assets. As majority owner, KKR will support the pending acquisition of a liquid storage terminal and rail business held by locally listed chemicals maker Ganesh Benzoplast (GBL). This will serve as the anchor asset for a roll-up platform taking in a range of related storage and logistics businesses.

“We have noted that a lot of assets in this space have developed in a non-core fashion as an ancillary to the main trading or manufacturing businesses,” Thanvi explained.

“We are seeing incrementally an ability to bring these assets under the fold of one business, where we establish the operating policies, the governance systems, and provide a network of services to customers and manufacturers, solving their logistics problems.”

Well-sited

GBL’s liquid storage terminal business was established at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) in the early 1990s. It now has a portfolio of approximately 500,000 kilolitres of operating and under-construction storage capacity across JNP and strategic ports in Cochin and Goa.

Location is critical. JNP serves as a crucial logistical backbone for chemical inflows and outflows for India’s industrial corridors of Maharashtra and Gujarat, as well as parts of southern India’s manufacturing belt. This makes for a sticky customer base, sticky pricing, and inflation pass-throughs – all of which appealed to KKR.

“Given the supply side constraints, we thought there was an opportunity to bring institutional capital, consolidate, put the right operating systems, and make Cisternina a multi-locational offering for clients that could be looking at similar solutions across their various offtake points,” said Thanvi.

“We also have last mile connectivity to locations, whether these are through rail lines, road networks or pipelines. This acquisition was a good way to solve a key part of the logistics puzzle for clients, driving us to consider this investment theme.”

Port-based liquid storage remains a nascent industry in India, but KKR is approaching it with an established playbook, having made similar investments in South Korea and Japan.

In 2021, the firm acquired Central Tank Terminal (CTT), operator of more than 420,000 kl of capacity across Japan’s key industrial regions. Two years later, it added on Central Terminal Korea (CTK), a tank terminal and grain logistics operator serving local chemical and agricultural supply chains. Agreements were reached last month to sell both assets.

Scaling up 

India has long been a key market for KKR’s infrastructure business, where its portfolio spans logistics, transport, renewable energy, electric mobility and power transmission. Cisternina is seen as a natural extension of this activity.

GBL brings the platform a 40-year track record and recent growth traction. The company reported a 9% jump in revenue to INR 4.1bn (USD 43m) in FY26, driven by both the chemicals manufacturing and liquid storage terminal businesses. Group profit rose 92% during the same period to INR 733m, making up lost ground related to an exceptional charge the prior year.

The company claims high demand utilisation rates and good operating capacity at its liquid storage terminals. This is attributed to their location along customers’ logistical pathways.

Following the GBL acquisition, Cisternina’s capacity will be about 500,000 kl, giving it a 7%-8% domestic market share, according to Thanvi. Further growth will be achieved through a mix of M&A and brownfield and greenfield expansions.

“We think this sector is at an inflection point and the ability to scale is super high,” he said, adding that KKR has “very high visibility” on a pipeline of acquisition targets and is willing to commit additional capital for M&A.

The first move, however, is to bring international safety standards and institutional management to the business, setting the stage for sustainable development.

“The market is fragmented and there’s hence an ability to play,” Thanvi said. “There will also be more growth coming through in this sector, so we find ourselves at a good point, positive about the investment and ready to invest and scale this business up.”