Adani Ports wraps up acquisition of Gangavaram Port

September 23, 2021, by Fatima Bahtić

India’s largest private ports and logistics company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has concluded the acquisition of the Gangavaram Port by buying the remaining 10.4% stake from the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP).

As disclosed, the boards of APSEZ and GPL have approved the merger of GPL with APSEZ at a swap ratio of 159:1,000 shares. The value of the purchase is INR 645 billion (around $87 million).

In April 2021, APSEZ bought 31.5% from Windy Lakeside Investment Ltd, a Warburg Pincus affiliate, and signed an agreement for the controlling stake of 58.1% held by DVS Raju and Family.

The merger, which is subject to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approvals, is expected to be completed by 31 March 2022.

GPL is a 64 MMT capacity non-major port established under concession from Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) that extends till 2059 and is the gateway port for a hinterland spread over 8 states across Eastern, Western, Southern and Central India.

Currently, the port handles a diverse mix of dry and bulk commodities including coal, iron ore, fertilizer, limestone, bauxite, sugar, alumina, and steel.

With this new acquisition, APSEZ’s is expected to expand access to several new markets.

“The network of ports that we continue to build allows us to create an integrated mesh of logistics capabilities,” said Karan Adani, CEO of APSEZ.

“Gangavaram is a major part of this mesh in one of India’s fastest growing states. GPL is advantageously located to allow us unprecedented access to the largely untapped hinterland market.”

With several operational initiatives underway, GPL is all set to continue its strong growth and margin expansion, the port authority concluded.

APSEZ was the first Indian port and third in the world to sign up for Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to achieve emission reduction targets. Through SBTi, companies are publicly committing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets across their entire value chain.