The Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) has concluded the acquisition of the Andhra Pradesh government’s 10.40% stake in the Gangavaram Port Limited (GPL) for a consideration of ₹645 crore.
The merger of GPL with the APSEZ has also been approved, with the GPL’s valuation amounting to ₹120 per share and the APSEZ’s fair value being ₹754.80 per share.
This resulted in a swap ratio of 159 shares in APSEZ for 1,000 shares in GPL for 58.10% stake held by D.V.S. Raju and family in the GPL.
The merger is, however, subject to approval by the National Company Law Tribunal, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2022, according to a press release by the APSEZ.
It was stated that in April last, the APSEZ had acquired a 31.50% stake from Windy Lakeside Investment Ltd., a Warburg Pincus affiliate, and signed an agreement for a controlling stake of 58.10% held by D.V.S. Raju and family.
Post the merger, D.V.S. Raju and family will receive approximately 4.80 crore shares, resulting in 2.2% stake in APSEZ worth ₹3,604 crore. The transaction has been completed at an equity value of ₹6,200 crore.
GPL is a 64 MMT capacity non-major port established under concession from the A.P. government that extends until 2059. It is a gateway port for a hinterland that is spread over eight States. This acquisition significantly expands APSEZ’s access to several new markets.
As a deep-draft modern multi-purpose port capable of handling fully laden super cape size vessels of up to 2,00,000 DWT, GPL handles a diverse mix of dry and bulk commodities, including coal, iron ore, fertilizer, limestone, bauxite, sugar, alumina and steel.
In FY-21, GPL had a cargo volume of 32.80 MMT, revenue of ₹1,057 crore, EBITDA of ₹625 crore and PAT of ₹494 crore.
