Adani Road Transport Ltd (ARTL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), engaged in development, construction, operations and management of roads and highway projects in India, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gujarat Road and Infrastructure Company Ltd (GRICL) (owned 56.8% by Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund) and Swarna Tollway Private Ltd (STPL) (owned 100% by Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund).
ARTL will acquire 56.8% in GRICL and 100% stake in STPL subject to regulatory approval. The transaction is expected to close in September 2022, the statement said.
STPL has two stretches of toll roads in Andhra Pradesh: i) Tada to Nellore on NH-16 connecting important ports such as Chennai, and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, spanning 110 km and ii) Nandigama to Ibrahimpatnam to Vijayawada on NH-65 spanning 48 km, which connects key southern metro cities and provides feeder traffic to NH16. Together the STPL portfolio has demonstrated strong historical revenue growth, according to the statement.
GRICL has two stretches of toll roads in Gujarat: i) Ahmedabad to Mehsana on SH-41 spanning 51.6 km with majority passenger traffic connecting important northern Gujarat corridors and ii) Vadodara to Halol on SH-87 spanning 31.7 km which is on Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor with proximity to several industries. Together the GRICL portfolio has demonstrated strong historical revenue growth. Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund owns 56.8% stake, IL&FS owns 26.8% stake and Govt of Gujarat owns the balance stake. Post acquisition of the stake in GRICL, ARTL will also evaluate the acquisition of IL&FS stake in GRICL, the statement said.
The acquisition is at an enterprise value of INR 3,110 Cr. The portfolio has an LTM EBITDA of INR 456 Cr with approx. INR 165 Cr of net debt. This translates into an EV/EBITDA multiple of approx. 6.8x. The deal is subject to customary regulatory and lender’s approvals.
The acquisition of Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund’s toll road portfolio in AP and Gujarat will enhance the bouquet of ARTL’s business in highways which includes 8 Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) projects, 5 Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects, and 1 Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) road project in 10 states in India with more than INR 41,000 Cr of projects under management. AEL endeavors to add more such value accretive strategic road assets to achieve its vision of becoming a preeminent roads transportation platform in India, the statement said.
Krishna Prakash Maheshwari, CEO of ARTL, said, “ARTL is committed to the Adani Group’s nation building initiative with a portfolio of more than 5,000 lane km of highway projects under construction / operation. This is one of the largest portfolios of toll road assets with high quality, strong team, long and robust track record of growth and strong cash flow generation with low leverage. We would like to thank Macquarie Asset Management for the support they have provided to the growth of the portfolio and having developed a robust operating team who we welcome to the Adani family.”
Deep Gupta, Managing Director and Co-Head of Macquarie Asset Management’s Real Assets business in SEA and India, said, “Macquarie Asset Management has been one of the earliest and largest infrastructure managers in India. Over our period of ownership, both STPL and GRICL have undertaken capital expenditure for better user experience and have improved health and safety standards for workers and road users. This transaction demonstrates our continued capabilities in driving growth and adding long term value to infrastructure assets in India. We would like to congratulate the Adani Group on acquiring these high-quality assets and are pleased about having the Adani Group own and operate a great portfolio for the long term.”
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