A couple of weeks after acquiring majority stakes in Gangavaram port in Visakhapatnam, the Gujarat-based Adani group completely acquired yet another major port in Andhra Pradesh – Krishnapatnam Port Ltd.
According to an official statement on Monday, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ), India’s largest private Ports & Logistics company and the flagship transportation arm of the diversified Adani Group acquired 100 per cent stake in Krishna Patnam port.
APSEZ already has 75 per cent state in the port and on Monday, it announced acquisition of the residual 25% stake from Vishwa Samudra Holdings in Krishnapatnam Port for Rs 2,800 crore. This will result in APSEZ increasing its stake from 75% to 100% in Krishnapatnam Port.
The acquisition implies an enterprise value of Rs 13,675 crore.
Krishnapatnam Port is located on the east coast of India in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh (about 180 km from Chennai Ports) close to the border between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It is an all-weather, deep water port has multicargo facility with a current capacity of 64 million tonnes per annum.
With a waterfront of 20 km and 6,800 acres of land, Krishnapatnam Port has a master plan capacity of 300 million tonnes per annum and a 50-year concession. The port is expected to have volumes of 38 million tonnes and revenues of Rs 1,840 crore in 2021.
Since the acquisition, Krishnapatnam Port has focused on business process re-engineering which has resulted in earning margins improving from 57% in 2020 to 72% in 2021.
Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director of APSEZ said: “We are committed to making Krishnapatnam 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.”