Adani Ports Gets NCLT Nod, To Acquire Remaining Stake In Gangavaram Port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) on Monday said it has received approvals from NCLT Ahmedabad and NCLT Hyderabad for acquiring the remaining 58.1 per cent stake in Gangavaram Port Limited (GPL) through the composite scheme of arrangement. With the acquisition of the remaining 58.1 per cent stake, APSEZ will own 100 per cent of Gangavaram Port and this stake purchase is through a share swap arrangement.

APSEZ in a statement said the acquisition of GPL is priced at around Rs 6,200 crore (517 million shares at the rate of Rs 120/share). APSEZ has already acquired 31.5 per cent stake in the company from Warburg Pincus and another 10.4 per cent from the government of Andhra Pradesh during 2021-22. According to the statement, the acquisition of 58.1 per cent stake from DVS Raju & family will be through a share-swap arrangement and will result in issuance of around 47.7 million APSEZ shares to the erstwhile GPL promoters.

The transaction implies an EV/EBITDA multiple of around 7.8x (FY22 EBITDA of Rs 796 crore), which is value accretive to APSEZ shareholders from day one itself, it added. Gangavaram Port is the third largest non-major port capable of handling fully laden super cape size vessels with nine berths and free hold land of 1,800 acres.

Commenting on the occasion, APSEZ CEO and whole-time director Karan Adani said, "Acquisition of GPL is a key milestone in consolidating our position as India's largest transport utility and in achieving east coast & west coast parity." Gangavaram Port is an all-weather deep-water multipurpose port with 64 MMT capacity and with concession period until 2059. In FY22, GPL handled 30 MMT cargo and reported revenue of Rs 1,206 crore. In the initial six months of FY23, the port has handled 17.3 MMT cargo, APSEZ said in a statement. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones, the flagship transportation arm of the diversified Adani group, is India's largest private ports and logistics company.

(PTI)