Adani to buy controlling stake in Mumbai airport

New Delhi, August 31

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate on Monday said it will take controlling stake in Mumbai airport through deals in which it will acquire the debt of current promoter GVK and buy out minority shareholders.

Adani Group will acquire GVK Airport Developers Ltd’s 50.50% stake as well as buy out 23.5% stake of Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) and Bidvest Group (for which it has obtained Competition Commission of India approval), it said in a regulatory filing.

Largest private airport operator

• Adani Group will acquire GVK Airport Developers Ltd’s 50.50% stake and buy out 23.5% stake of Airports Company of South Africa and Bidvest Group, it said
• A controlling 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd., together with the six non-metro airports it bagged in a government tender, will make Adani Group the largest private operator of airports in India
• Adani Airport Holdings will acquire the debt of GVK Airport Developers, the  holding company of GVK Power and Infrastructure

A controlling 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), together with the six non-metro airports it bagged in a government tender, will make Adani Group the largest private operator of airports in India.

State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) runs most of the airports in the country. Adani Airport Holdings will acquire the debt of GVK Airport Developers, the holding company of GVK Power and Infrastructure, the filing said.

The debt will be converted into equity at mutually-agreed terms, GVK said in a separate filing. This conversion would lead to Adani Group getting all of 50.5% stake of GVK Group.

The two firms did not give details of the deal including the debt that Adani is taking over and the terms of conversion.

After seaports, Adani Group is betting big on the airport sector and has won the bids to run six AAI-built non-metro airports in Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mangalore. It has now entered the country’s second busiest airport. The move comes at a time when the Covid pandemic has hit brakes on the aviation sector. — PTI