Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, India’s biggest maritime company by market capitalization, is in advanced talks to acquire Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s (SP) Gopalpur Ports in Odisha for up to Rs 1,100-1,200 crore in equity value as part of a neatly woven string-of-pearls strategy that involves owning considerable facilities along both the eastern and western water margins.
If successful, this will be Adani Port’s sixth acquisition of a multi-purpose facility on the eastern coast, where it already has approximately 247 million tonnes (MT) of capacity. The due diligence process is currently on, people aware of the talks told ET. SP Ports Maintenance holds 56% of Gopalpur Ports.
The remaining stake is held by Orissa Stevedores (OSL). SP Ports, in turn, is 100% owned by SP Imperial Star, which also acts as its guarantor.
However, people in the know said there is no guarantee the ongoing negotiations will eventually translate into a transaction. On October 26, ET reported that JSW Infrastructure was in talks with the Mistry family for the same asset at a Rs 3,000-crore enterprise valuation. Subsequent reports said private equity groups were also approached as the Mistry family was unhappy with the valuations offered.
