India’s largest port developer, operator Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Monday announced the completion of the acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. (KPCL) for an enterprise value of Rs 12,000 crore. APSEZ will buy a controlling stake of 75 per cent in KPCL from CVR group and other investors.
As per a regulatory filing, Adani Port said, in FY21, the port is expected to generate an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of approximately Rs 1,200 crore.
KPCL is a multi-cargo facility port situated in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, a state which has the second largest coastline in India.
“This acquisition will accelerate APSEZ’s stride towards 500 MMT by 2025 and is another step in implementing APSEZ’s stated strategy of cargo parity between west and east coasts of India,” the filing said.
“This transformational acquisition enables us to roll out world class customer service to an increased customer base and provide a pan-India solution to them,” Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director of APSEZ said.
He added that the company’s experience of turning around acquisitions like Dhamra and Kattupalli ports will enable it in harnessing the potential of KPCL.
“We will target to enhance throughput at KPCL to 100 MMT by FY25 and double its EBIDTA by FY23. With a vast waterfront and land availability of over 6,700 acres, KPCL is capable of replicating Mundra and would be future ready to handle 500 MMT. We will replicate our operations and maintenance philosophy at KPCL, continue to focus on environment, reduce emission levels and have zero tolerance for fatalities and thus improve returns to stakeholders,” Adani said.