In one of the largest toll road divestments in India, Australian asset manager Macquarie Asset Management is selling its Indian platform, Safeway Concessions, to French engineering and infrastructure firm Vinci SA for an implied enterprise value of approximately $1.7 billion ( ₹15,000 crore).
Safeway Concessions acquired the rights to operate nine highways spanning nearly 700 kilometres across Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in 2018 under the National Highways Authority of India’s toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model for about ₹9,680 crore (around $1.49 billion at the time), marking the country’s first major privatization of existing road assets.
Macquarie put Safeway on the block in 2025, with the race for the assets originally narrowing down to three contenders: Vinci; IPO-bound EAAA India Alternatives Ltd's Sekura Roads; and KKR's Vertis Infrastructure Trust.
Mint reported on 9 February that Vinci was nearing a $2 billion deal for the assets, paving the way for its return to India after 11 years. It exited the country in 2015 amid policy shifts in the road assets industry.
The company had sought to form a joint venture with BlackRock-backed infrastructure fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for an India entry, but talks fell through, the news report said.
Vinci is now likely to set up an India unit to house the road assets and avoid putting them into an infrastructure investment trust due to complex regulatory procedures, the report added.
"India has the world's second-largest road network, with a rapidly growing middle class driving higher demand for road usage," Verena Lim, co-head of Asia-Pacific Macquarie Asset Management, said in a statement on Tuesday. Lim noted the sale reinforces the viability of the TOT model for international investors such as Vinci.
Macquarie had approximately $477 billion in assets under management globally as of 30 Sept 2025.
The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, with a financial close expected by the end of 2026, the statement said. The final valuation may be adjusted based on transaction costs and foreign exchange rates at the time of closing.
Investor interest
Vinci's interest in India's road assets is not an outlier.
Media reports suggest Macquarie is also seeking a stake in the Canadian institutional investor CDPQ-backed Maple Infrastructure Trust. KKR has been consolidating its road portfolio under Vertis, as it aims to build a platform large enough to rival Singapore-based Cube Highways.
Cube, meanwhile, acquired two annuity road assets in Jammu & Kashmir in 2025.
Earlier in 2024, KKR-backed Highways Infrastructure Trust also signed definitive agreements to acquire a dozen road projects from PNC Infratech Ltd for ₹9,005 crore.
The interest in roads is driven by factors such as the availability of a large number of assets that allow large institutional investors, including pension and sovereign wealth funds, to flock in. Macquarie's assets are also sweetened by the fact that they have a 30-year concession period.
Vinci's India bet also comes at a time when India's road monetization has a steady outlook.
Ratings agency Icra expects the sector to remain healthy in 2025-26.
"The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified 24 assets across 12 states for monetization via ToT and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) modes. The identified 24 assets may garner ₹21,000-24,000 crore for the NHAI," the agency said in a March 2025 report.
Icra also expects toll rate growth of around 2.5-3.9% in 2025-26, which, coupled with 3-5% traffic growth, is estimated to lead to 7-9% growth in toll collections.
"Moreover, the competitive intensity is expected to remain high, as developers will continue to bid aggressively to shore up their order books," it noted.