BackGMR Infra said to weigh road assets sale via Singapore IPO
GMR may raise as much as $500 million by listing the assets as a business trust
PremiumMumbai: GMR Infrastructure Ltd, operator of India’s biggest airport in New Delhi, is considering selling some of its toll road assets in an initial public offering in Singapore, five people with knowledge of the matter said.
GMR may raise as much as $500 million by listing the assets as a business trust, three of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. GMR has held talks with banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Nomura Holdings Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc about the possible listing, the people said.
Arun Bhagat, a Bangalore-based spokesman for GMR, declined to comment on any potential asset sales. GMR shares closed 2.28% lower to 19.30 on the BSE.
At least five Indian companies are considering raising money by listing assets in business trusts in Singapore, said the people. They declined to identify the firms. Religare Health Trust, backed by the assets of India’s second-biggest hospital company, Fortis Healthcare Ltd., raised S$511 million ($413 million) in October. Shares of the trust are little changed from the offer price.
GMR last month terminated an agreement with the National Highways Authority of India to add lanes to a 555-kilometer (345-mile) highway. After the Maldives took control of Male international airport from GMR in December, following the cancellation of a contract, the company and its lenders are owed more than $700 million in compensation, GMR said.
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