Adani completes Krishnapatnam Port Company acquisition

Hyderabad: 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.

In a statement, Adani said the acquisition will result in APSEZ having a controlling stake of 75 per cent in KPCL from the CVR Group and other investors In FY21, the port is expected to generate an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization)of 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.

"I am happy that KPCL the second largest private port in India has now become part of APSEZ portfolio. 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. This acquisition will accelerate APSEZ's stride towards 500 million metric tonnes per annum by 2025 and is another step in implementing its stated strategy of cargo parity between west and east coasts of India. Karan Adani added that the company's experience of turning around acquisitions like Dhamra and Kattupalli ports will enable it in harnessing the potential of KPCL.

"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.