Adani Ports To Buy Majority Stake In Krishnapatnam Port For $1.89 Billion

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said on Friday it would buy a 75% stake in Krishnapatnam Port Co Ltd (KPCL) for an enterprise value of Rs 135.72 billion ($1.89 billion).

The deal will take its domestic market share to 27% from 22% on a pan-India basis, the company said in a filing to exchanges.

The port, located in Andhra Pradesh, is the second-largest private sector port in India and handled 54 MMT of cargo in 2019.

"APSEZ will target to enhance cargo volume at KPCL to 100 million metric tonnes (MMT) in around 7 years and will double its EBIDTA in around 4 years," said Karan Adani, chief executive officer of APSEZ.

The KPCL deal will help APSEZ meet its target of handling 400 MMT of cargo by 2025, the logistics arm of the Adani Group said.

The cash funded transaction is expected to complete in 120 days, APSEZ said.