Adani Ports increases ownership in Krishnapatnam Port to 100 pc by acquiring Vishwasamudra Holdings' for Rs 2,800 cr

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has acquired 25 per cent stake in Adani Krishnapatnam Port Ltd from Vishwa Samudra Holdings for Rs 2,800 crore, resulting in 100 per cent acquisition of Krishnapatnam port by APSEZ.

Ad Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has acquired 25 per cent stake in Ad Krishnapatnam Port Ltd from Vishwa Samudra Holdings for Rs 2,800 crore, resulting in 100 per cent acquisition of Krishnapatnam port by APSEZ.

APSEZ is India's largest private ports and logistics company and the flagship transportation arm of the diversified Ad Group.

Together with the 75 per cent ownership acquired in October 2020, the acquisition implies an enterprise value of Rs 13,675 crore implying an EV/FY21 EBITDA multiple of 10.3x.

"The consolidation of our ownership in Krishnapatnam Port reinforces APSEZ's stride towards 500 MMT by 2025 and achieving our broader strategy of cargo parity between the west and east coasts of India," APSEZ said in a statement on Monday.

"Krishnapatnam Port is on track to handle double the traffic by 2025 and will deliver high growth through a multi-product and cargo enhancement strategy while enhancing return on capital employed," said Karan Ad, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director, APSEZ.

"We are confident that we will be able to double throughput and triple EBITDA at Krishnapatnam Port by 2025. We are committed to makingKrishnapatnam Port the gateway port for South Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. With its large industrial land backed with the port, we will transform Krishnapatnam into a manufacturing and industrial hub," he added.

Krishnapatnam Port is located on the east coast of India in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh (around 180 km from Chennai ports) close to the border between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Krishnapatnam Port is an all-weather, deep water port that has a multi-cargo facility with a current capacity of 64 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).

With a waterfront of 20 km and 6,800 acres of land, Krishnapatnam Port has a master plan capacity of 300 MMTPA and a 50-year concession.

( With inputs from ANI )