Adani Port -; SEZ wins bid for insolvent Karaikal Port with Rs 200 crore offer

2 Dec 2022 , 12:37 PM

Adani Ports & SEZ Limited (APSEZ) has won the bid for Karaikal Port with an Rs200 crore offer that outbid rival Vedanta, stated people familiar with the developments.

The bidding was conducted as per the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) guidelines.

As per the sources, Karaikal Port’s lenders met last week to approve APSEZ’s offer, which will now be presented to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for final approval.

APSEZ is India’s largest port operator, owning 12 ports, including Mundra Port, the country’s largest private port. The company recently paid Rs6,200 crore for the acquisition of Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh.

The 600-acre port, built through a public-private partnership between the government of Puducherry and Chennai-based MARG Limited, ran into financial difficulties, resulting in an outstanding debt of Rs3,000 crore due to defaults and late payments.

The Adani Group, which has been expanding its port business, sees Pondicherry’s southern port as a natural fit. Vedanta pursued the bid process because its metals and mining businesses require large quantities of raw materials and finished goods.

JSW Infra, Jindal Power, APSEZ, Vedanta, and a consortium of RKG Fund and Sagacious Capital submitted initial bids for the port. APSEZ 1 and Vedanta eventually submitted binding financial bids, while the others failed to do so.

On April 29, the NCLT admitted Karaikal Port to insolvency proceedings and Rajesh Sheth was appointed as the resolution professional.

Initially, a group of 11 public sector banks or financial institutions, sanctioned Rs1,362 crore loan to Karaikal Port. Following irregular repayments, the loan soared to its current size as interest and penalties were added.

However, Adani Ports and Vedanta made no comment on the matter.

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