SAJJAN JINDAL’S PORT UNIT PLANS PUBLIC LISTING BY MARCH 2024

JSW Infrastructure Ltd., a unit of tycoon Sajjan Jindal’s steel-to-cement conglomerate, is planning an initial public offering by March 2024.

The Mumbai-based company, which operates seaports and terminals, will soon start the process of engaging investment bankers and professional agencies to facilitate the listing, joint managing director Arun Maheshwari said in an interview.

The firm will take a “balanced view” on geopolitical risks and inflationary pressures among other factors while deciding on the timing for the listing, he said.

Maheshwari didn’t provide additional details on the possible size of the stake sale or the amount of funds it would seek to raise.

Globally, there has been a slowdown in fund-raising as Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising interest rates boost volatility, sapping investor appetite for equities.

JSW Infrastructure aims to handle up to 100 million tons of cargo in the financial year that started April 1 and plans to focus on diversifying more into the container business, Maheshwari said.

The company does not have high leverage ratios and that bolsters its acquisition plans, he said.

“We will certainly be looking at acquisitions provided it matches our criteria of sustainability, cargo diversification and geographical diversification,” Maheshwari said.

Sustainability will be the primary requirement for the company’s acquisition choices, he said.

“Even if it is attractive in terms of returns but is not ESG compliant, or has little scope for ESG development, probably we will give it a miss,” Maheshwari said.

Earlier this year, JSW Infrastructure haed raised as much as $400 million through sustainability-linked bonds to repay loans and for capital expenditure..