Adani Ports completes acquisition of Karaikal Port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) has announced the successful acquisition of Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd (KPPL) after receiving approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The acquisition has now been completed.

Before it acquired Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd (KPPL), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) was deemed a successful resolution applicant during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of KPPL.

Karaikal Port is a sizable all-weather deep-water port located in Puducherry, India, with five functional berths, three railway sidings, over 600 hectares of land, and an existing cargo handling capacity of 21.5 million metric tonnes.

"Acquisition consideration of ₹1,485 crores implies an EV/EBITDA multiple of 8x on the FY23 estimated numbers," APSEZ said in a statement.

According to the statement, the port is near the containerized cargo-originating industrial centres of Tamil Nadu, and the upcoming 9 MMTPA CPCL refinery.

APSEZ CEO and whole-time director Karan Adani said, "With the acquisition of Karaikal port APSEZ now operates 14 ports in India. APSEZ will spend further ₹850 crores over time to upgrade infrastructure to reduce the logistics cost for the customers.

"We are envisaging to double the port capacity in the next five years and also add a container terminal to make it a multipurpose port," he added.

Karaikal Port, located in the Karaikal District of the Union Territory of Puducherry, was established in 2009 and is situated approximately 300 km south of Chennai.

As the only major port located between Chennai and Tuticorin, the port benefits from its strategic location, providing easy access to the industrial-rich hinterland of Central Tamil Nadu.

With a water draft of 14 meters and a land area of over 600 acres, Karaikal Port is a significant port. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones, the flagship transportation arm of the diversified Adani group, is India's largest private ports and logistics company.