Top Private Equity Firms Investing in Logistics
Logistics has become one of the more durable themes in private equity over the past decade, and the capital flowing into freight, warehousing, supply chain technology, and last-mile delivery shows it. The global logistics market was valued at roughly $7.6 trillion in 2017, and projections toward $13 trillion by 2027 have kept PE interest steady even through stretches when deal activity elsewhere cooled. Infrastructure bottlenecks, e-commerce growth, and the push to digitize supply chains have kept the sector near the top of the priority list for generalists and specialists alike.
The directory above surfaces every PE firm in PEL's database with a logistics mandate, filterable by check size, stage, geography, and sub-sector. A filter, though, won't tell you that one of these firms has a specific African infrastructure thesis, or that another is a first-year fund raising against an $18 billion target. Those are the differences that decide whether you're approaching the right firm, and with the right framing, and they're exactly what the profiles below cover.
1. A.P. Moller Capital
A.P. Moller Capital was founded in 2017 as a value-add infrastructure fund manager focused specifically on transportation and logistics investments, giving its sector interest a structural rather than opportunistic basis. Total AUM across its infrastructure funds stands at $2.5 billion, and its second fund is specifically focused on Morocco's transport and logistics sector, with over $240 million in commitments. That geographic specificity is unusual: most infrastructure-oriented PE managers at this AUM level cast a broader net, but A.P. Moller Capital has made a deliberate bet on North African logistics infrastructure.
Based in Copenhagen, the firm positions itself as a value-add infrastructure manager rather than a traditional buyout shop. For founders or operators in African transport and logistics looking for a patient, infrastructure-minded investor with genuine sector depth, this is one of the more distinctive options in the database.
2. ABRY Partners
ABRY is one of the longer-tenured sector-focused PE firms in the United States, founded in 1989 by Andrew Banks and Royce Yudkoff. Its primary focus is media, communications, and information services, not logistics in any conventional sense, but its business and information services mandate does capture logistics-adjacent software, data, and B2B services companies where the underlying customer base is transportation or supply chain. The firm has invested more than $90 billion since founding and currently manages approximately $5.4 billion in active capital, with its flagship fund, ABRY Partners IX, sitting at $2.1 billion.
Check sizes run from $20 million at the low end to $200 million for flagship fund deals, with a typical range of $60 million to $200 million for core investments. Headquartered in Boston, ABRY is most relevant for logistics-sector technology or services businesses rather than asset-heavy freight or warehousing operators.
3. 8 Miles LLP
8 Miles is one of the few PE firms in this directory built exclusively around African markets. Co-founded in 2008 by Nathan Mintah and Hemen Shah and headquartered in London, the firm invests in established businesses across the continent, with logistics among its sector interests. AUM figures vary by source, with PEL's own database citing approximately $300 million and other references suggesting a $500 million to $1 billion range. Its last fund launched in 2012, which is a meaningful data point for anyone evaluating the firm's current deployment pace and capacity.
8 Miles has kept a narrow geographic focus since its 2008 founding, backing established African businesses rather than chasing the broader emerging-market mandate many pan-regional funds pursue. For logistics businesses operating across Sub-Saharan Africa or looking for a partner with deep pan-African networks, 8 Miles has a specific, long-standing rationale for being there that most London-based PE managers do not.
4. 9Yards Capital
Founded in 2018, 9Yards Capital has built an unusually active investment pace for a firm of its age. Deal-tracking records show 203 investments made to date, and its SEC Form ADV filing puts AUM at approximately $688 million, with check sizes typically in the $10 to $50 million range. The firm has been variously described as New York-based, San Francisco-based, and Los Angeles-based across different data sources, which reflects either a multi-office structure or inconsistent reporting, worth factoring into any outreach approach.
The $10 to $50 million check size puts 9Yards in range for growth-stage logistics businesses that have moved past early revenue and are looking to scale, rather than seed-stage ventures or large-platform buyouts.
5. Abu Dhabi Investment Office
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) functions differently from most entries on this list. Established in 2018, it operates as a government-linked investment body with a mandate tied to Abu Dhabi's broader economic development agenda, rather than as a fund manager seeking returns in isolation. Its total capital is listed at $545 million, with a typical ticket size of $10 to $50 million per deal and an investment horizon of three to five years. That timeline is shorter than most infrastructure or buyout mandates, which shapes what kinds of logistics businesses are a realistic fit.
Companies considering ADIO should think about whether their growth story has a credible Abu Dhabi angle, whether that's regional expansion, free zone presence, or technology adoption that aligns with UAE national priorities. The check size and horizon are accessible, but the strategic fit criteria are narrower than a purely financial investor would apply.
6. Abraaj
Abraaj is included here because it was one of the largest emerging-market PE firms in the world at its peak, with nearly $14 billion in AUM. Founded in Dubai in 2002 by Arif Naqvi, the firm raised over $7 billion and distributed approximately $3 billion to investors before its collapse. In 2018, Abraaj filed for liquidation following investigations into the misuse of investor funds. Colony Capital subsequently acquired its Latin American private equity operations.
The firm is not operational in any meaningful sense and is included because it appears in the database and searchers sometimes encounter it in historical deal records or portfolio company lineages. If you're tracing the ownership history of a logistics business that was previously Abraaj-backed, the liquidation filing and the Colony Capital transaction are the relevant reference points.
7. 13ThrustVal Group
13ThrustVal Group is a Bengaluru-based firm founded in 2024, with a stated sector focus that includes logistics, transport, and smart cities. The $18 billion figure associated with it appears to be a fund target rather than committed or deployed capital, and given the firm's founding date and company size of 51 to 200 employees, the gap between that number and verifiable AUM is substantial. Almost nothing about this firm's track record, LP base, or deal activity is independently verifiable at this stage.
It is listed here for completeness, but logistics founders and investors evaluating active PE partners should treat this as an early-stage manager with an unconfirmed capital base rather than a firm with a deployable fund.
8. Abdul Latif Jameel Fintech Fund
The Abdul Latif Jameel parent group dates to 1945, and its private equity arm, Abdul Latif Jameel Enterprises, includes automotive among its buyout sectors. The Fintech Fund is a more recent vehicle, established in 2024, focused on private equity growth and buyouts at the $10 to $50 million check size. The logistics connection here is indirect: the group's automotive and distribution heritage gives it supply chain adjacency, but the Fintech Fund's stated mandate centers on financial services rather than logistics as a primary vertical.
For logistics technology companies with a fintech dimension, particularly those operating in MENA markets where the Jameel Group has established relationships, this could be a relevant conversation. For freight, warehousing, or physical logistics operators, the fit is less clear based on what's publicly available about this fund's mandate.
Let's Recap
The eight firms cover very different ways private equity operates in logistics, so what you're trying to do decides who's actually relevant:
- Pure logistics focus: A.P. Moller Capital (African and North African infrastructure, backed by one of the world's largest shipping conglomerates, larger cheques and longer holds) and 8 Miles (established pan-African businesses, a traditional PE firm run from London). The clearest fits if you're asset-heavy or an infrastructure play.
- Mid-size cheques, opposite styles: 9Yards Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office both write $10 to $50 million, but 9Yards is a fast, broad-mandate financial investor, while ADIO is a government-linked vehicle with a shorter horizon and implicit Abu Dhabi economic alignment.
- Asset-light only: ABRY Partners, whose information-services focus fits logistics businesses where the value is in data, software, or managed services rather than physical operations.
- Handle with care: Abraaj is a historical reference, not an active counterparty; 13ThrustVal and the Abdul Latif Jameel Fintech Fund are thinly documented 2024 vehicles worth verifying independently before any contact.
To narrow fast, filter by geography first, then check size, then asset-heavy versus asset-light. Geography and cheque size rule firms out quickest, and asset type separates the ones left. On stage, 9Yards' 203 investments signal comfort with growth-equity volume, while A.P. Moller's infrastructure focus means longer holds and larger minimums.
Running those filters by hand is the slow part, and that's where Private Equity List's API and MCP tools help: pull the firms that match your geography, check size, and sector straight into your own spreadsheet or CRM, or connect the live database to an AI assistant like Claude and ask it to shortlist logistics investors for you in plain language, then act on a clean, current list instead of rebuilding it every time.