GVK raises Rs 7,600 crore to pare debt, buy 23.5% stake in Mumbai Airport

NEW DELHI: The GVK group said it has raised more than Rs 7,600 crore from investors and the proceeds will be used to reduce debt and acquire a 23.5% stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL). This should halt the Adani Group’s bid to acquire a stake in the company that operates Mumbai airport.

“GVK Power & Infrastructure’s subsidiaries, GVK Airport Developers (GVKADL) and GVK Airport Holdings (GVKAHL) have entered into definitive agreements with subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) supported by its global airports platform, AviAlliance, and with National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF),” said a release from the company. They “will make an aggregate investment of Rs 7,614 crore, into GVKAHL”.

Upon completion of the transaction, GVK Airport Holdings will have four shareholders—GVK Airport Developers, ADIA, PSP Investments and NIIF—and the GVK Group will hold 20.9% of GVKAHL. The deal values GVK’s airport assets, which include Mumbai airport and the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport, at Rs 9,608 crore.

GVKAHL is the holding company of MIAL, which runs the Mumbai airport and has won the bid to develop Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) through MIAL’s 74% subsidiary Navi Mumbai International Airport (Private) (NMIAL).

“Proceeds from the transaction will be used by GVK to primarily retire debt obligations of its holding companies significantly and fund the purchase of additional shares in MIAL by GVKAHL from Bidvest and ACSA in accordance with the right of first offer already exercised by GVKAHL,” the release added.

“The amount for payment to Bidvest will be deposited in an escrow account before the end of October as advised by the arbitration tribunal,” said a spokesperson for the company.

Bidvest and ACSA, which together own about 23.5% in MIAL and were looking to exit the company, had offers from the Adani Group. GVK Group owns 50.5% of MIAL and the rest is held by the Airports Authority of India. With the purchase of Bidvest’s 13.5% and ACSA’s 10%, GVK will take its stake to 74%. The Adani Group entered the airports business last year, successfully bidding to take over the running of six airfields last year.

Bidvest had, earlier this year, offered its stake in MIAL to GVK under the right of first refusal (RoFR) provision. GVK had exercised the option and said it would buy the stake. However, upon a delay in payment from GVK, Bidvest had moved the Delhi High Court, which had allowed it to move an arbitration tribunal, which gave GVK until October-end to make the payment.

The company said that the management and branding of the airport will remain with the GVK Group following the transaction. “GVK Reddy will continue as executive chairman and GV Sanjay Reddy as managing director in both MIAL and NMIAL. Both airports will continue to be branded as GVK Airports,” it said.

With funds in place, the company said it will now focus on building Navi Mumbai Airport. “We will now accelerate our efforts for developing the Navi Mumbai International Airport, monetising MIAL’s real estate assets and building an even stronger airports business,” chairman GVK Reddy was quoted as saying in the releas.