Adani Ports completes Rs 1,485 crore acquisition of Karaikal Port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) announced on Saturday that it has successfully completed the acquisition of Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd (KPPL) after receiving approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

As per the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of KPPL, APSEZ was declared a successful resolution applicant earlier. Karaikal Port, located in Puducherry, is an all-weather deep-water port that boasts five operational berths, three railway sidings, a total land area of over 600 hectares, and a built-in cargo handling capacity of 21.5 MMT.

In a statement, APSEZ stated that the acquisition consideration of ₹1,485 crore implies an EV/EBITDA multiple of 8x on the FY23 estimated numbers. According to the statement, the port is located in close proximity to the containerised cargo-originating industrial centres of Tamil Nadu and the upcoming 9 MMTPA CPCL refinery.

Adani running 14 ports

Karan Adani, CEO and whole-time director of APSEZ, said that with the acquisition of Karaikal port, the company now operates 14 ports in India. He added that APSEZ will spend an additional ₹850 crore over time to upgrade infrastructure to reduce logistics costs for customers. Adani also stated that the company is looking to double the port’s capacity in the next five years and add a container terminal to make it a multipurpose port.

The Karaikal Port was commissioned in 2009 and developed in the Karaikal District of the Union Territory of Puducherry, approximately 300 km south of Chennai. It is the only major port between Chennai and Thoothukudi, and its strategic location allows the port easy access to the industrial-rich hinterland of Central Tamil Nadu. The port has a 14-metre water draft and a land area of over 600 acres.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones, the flagship transportation arm of the diversified Adani group, is India’s largest private ports and logistics company.

With agency inputs