Hyderabad: GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL) today announced the sale of its equity held by its wholly owned subsidiary GMR SEZ and Port Holdings Limited (GSPHL) of 51% stake in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada SEZ Limited (KSEZ) to Aurobindo Realty and Infrastructure Private Limited (ARIPL).
As part of the transfer of stake of KSEZ, and in terms of regulatory requirements, the 74% equity stake of Kakinada Gateway Port Limited (KGPL) held by KSEZ is also being transferred to Aurobindo Realty, GIL said. A press release from the company said that the total revised consideration for the sale of equity stake as well as the sub-debt in KSEZ is Rs. 2,719 crores.
Out of the total consideration, Rs. 1692 crores (“First Tranche Consideration”) is received and balance Rs. 1,027 crores would be received in next 2 to 3 years which is contingent upon certain agreed milestones. The majority of the divestment proceeds are primarily used to reduce the indebtedness of the group, the release added.
The KSEZ is engaged in the business of implementation of a port based multi-product special economic zone project at Kakinada, East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. KGPL has the concession granted by the AP government to set up a greenfield commercial port in Kona Village of East Godavari district.
The GMR Group is a global infrastructure conglomerate with expertise in designing, building and operating airports. It also operates the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. According to the group, it has significant presence in areas of energy, transportation and urban infrastructure, is also the largest private airport operator in Asia and fourth largest globally, with passenger capacity in excess of 178 million annually.Philippines, in partnership with Megawide.
The GMR group is currently developing three major greenfield airport projects across India and Greece. Goa and Visakhapatnam airports in India are poised to transform the economy and landscape of the surrounding areas when ready. It is also developing unique airport cities on commercial land available around its airports, the release added.