Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Tuesday entered into a definitive agreement with Mundi Limited, a unit of Mediterranean Shipping Company Group. Under this, TiL, the terminal arm of MCS, will invest $ 1.397 billion to buy 49 percent stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL). The company said in its regulatory filing that this deal is yet to get regulatory approval. With this investment, the value of Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited is estimated at $ 2.85 billion, in which TiL’s investment is equal to 49 percent of its stake. After the deal, APSEZ will hold the remaining 51 percent stake, it will hold most of the seats in the board and AVPPL will remain its subsidiary.
Investment will be done in two installments
According to the company, TiL investment will be made in two tranches. As first tranche, $539 million will be paid to acquire 49 per cent stake, while the remaining $858 million will be invested through debt and equity stake in the project upon completion of the ongoing expansion of Vizhinjam Port by December 2028. Speaking on the stake sale, Ashwani Gupta, Whole-Time Director and CEO of APSEZ, said that I am happy that we are extending APSEZ’s long-standing partnership with MSC to Vizhinjam. He said that we are preparing for the next phase of the port’s journey. I am confident that our partnership will provide better supply chain capabilities at the global level and improve India’s access to key global developed and developing markets.
The port was started in December 2024
The companies said the partnership is expected to attract a greater share of Bangladesh’s cargo, increase visibility of cargo volumes, accelerate operations at Vizhinjam Port and strengthen its position as a major transshipment hub in the Indian Ocean region. This deal is also the third strategic partnership between APSEZ and TiL after the collaboration on Mundra and Ennore Ports. Vizhinjam, commissioned in December 2024, is India’s first deep-draft mega transshipment port. Currently its handling capacity is 1.6 million TEU, which is being increased to 5.7 million TEU by December 2028.
