Billionaire Gautam Adani-run Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone will buy a 95% stake in Odisha's Gopalpur Port (GPL) for an equity value of Rs 1,349 crore and enterprise value of Rs 3,080 crore to boost its east coast presence.
Furthermore, in addition to the enterprise value, the company said there is a contingent consideration of Rs 270 crore which is likely to be payable after 5.5 years, subject to certain conditions.
APSEZ, India's largest private port operator, will be acquiring a 56 per cent stake in Gopalpur Port from real-estate conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) and a 39 per cent stake from Orissa Stevedores.
Shares of APSEZ were trading with gains of around 1.3 per cent as of 10 am, while benchmark indices were down roughly 0.3 per cent.
The port, located on India's east coast, can handle around 20 MMTPA. The Odisha government in 2006 awarded a 30-year concession to GPL, with the provision of two extensions of 10 years each.
The port currently handles a diverse mix of dry bulk cargo, including iron ore, coal, limestone, ilmenite, and alumina.
"GPL (Gopalpur Port) will add to the Adani Group's pan-India port network, east coast vs west coast cargo volume parity and strengthen APSEZ's integrated logistics approach," said Karan Adani, managing director at Adani Ports.
APSEZ develops and operates about 12 ports and terminals on the west and east coast of India.
"The port plays an important role in supporting the growth of mineral-based industries in its hinterland, like iron & steel, alumina and others. The concessionaire has full flexibility to design and expand the port as per the market demand. GPL has received more than 500 acres of land on lease for development, with an option to receive additional land on lease to meet future capacity expansions," APSEZ said in a release.
GPL in FY24 is likely to handle cargo of around 11.3 MMT, at a revenue of Rs 520 crore which is 39 per cent higher on an annual basis.
“In our view, the Gopalpur Port is all set for strong growth and margin expansion in FY25 with opportunities already identified for achieving higher operational efficiencies and infra debottlenecking, implying further value accretion for APSEZ shareholders,” APSEZ said.