ADANI LOOKS TO ACQUIRE GUJARAT PIPAVAV PORT
AHMEDABAD: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZL) is looking to acquire a controlling stake in Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd (GPPL), according to three people close to the development.
The company has initiated talks to acquire APM Terminals Management B.V.’s 43.01% stake in GPPL, said the people on condition of anonymity. The enterprise value of the port is about $1 billion, they said. If the transaction materialises, APSEZL may look to acquire a controlling stake of 51% or more by way of an open offer, according to the people.
Apart from APM Terminal’s 43.01% stake, foreign institutions hold a 37.19% stake and Indian institutions hold 13.34 of GPPL, with non-promoter holding being 1.79%. About 4.67% is with public and others.
APM Terminals, a part of the AP Moller Maersk group has initiated a bidding process in which Adani group has participated, said two of the three people.
GPPL has set up a joint venture company, Pipavav Railways Corporation Ltd, with the equity participation of the ministry of railways. APM Terminals, which is a partner in the company, is also looking to exit this venture, said one of the two officials.
When contacted, a spokesperson for the Adani group said the company is always on the lookout for organic and inorganic growth in the ports sector, but would not like to comment on any specific deal.
“As a matter of policy, Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd, also known as APM Terminals Pipavav, does not comment on market rumors and speculation,” an APM Terminals spokesperson said in response to an e-mailed query.
Apart from the Adani group, Sajjan Jindal’s JSW group has also held talks on acquiring APM Terminals’s stake in GPPL a few months ago, said an industry official close to the company. An e-mail query sent to JSW remained unanswered.
APSEZL owns and operates eight ports and terminals in India including Mundra, Dahej, Kandla and Hazira in Gujarat, Dhamra in Orissa, Mormugao in Goa, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Katupalli in Chennai. The company is developing a terminal at Ennore in Tamil Nadu and Vizhinjam in Kerala.