Adani Group in final legs to acquire Shapoorji Gopalpur Port

CUTTACK : SP Port Maintenance, a Shapoorji entity owns the business group’s holding in Gopalpur Port. SP Port Maintenance is a fully owned subsidiary of SP Imperial Star. The remaining shares are owned by Orissa Stevedores. Shapoorji acquired a 51% ownership of Gopalpur in 2017.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone, India’s biggest port operator, is a step closer to purchasing Gopalpur Port, owned by conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group, sources said.

The proposed transaction is in very advanced stages, the sources said. Adani Ports proposes to purchase Shapoorji’s 56% equity in Gopalpur Port on the Odisha coast. Both firms have been in discussions for a planned deal in recent months.

SP Port Maintenance, a Shapoorji entity owns the business group’s holding in Gopalpur Port. SP Port Maintenance is a fully owned subsidiary of SP Imperial Star. The remaining shares are owned by Orissa Stevedores. Shapoorji acquired a 51% ownership of Gopalpur in 2017.

Shapoorji Pallonji, in recent years has explored sale of its assets to pare the group’s debt load, that hovered around 210 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) as of June, 2023, according to CareEdge Ratings estimates. If the deal goes through, this will be the first key asset sale by Shapoorji Pallonji, whose main businesses include infrastructure and construction.

Group firm Afcons Infrastructure is preparing for an initial public offering, according to sources.

Both Adani Group and Shapoorji Pallonji didn’t reply to separate emails from ET NOW seeking a comment on the matter.

Gopalpur Port has an annual cargo handling capacity of 25 million tonnes. Adani Ports is India’s biggest port operator by market value and cargo handling capacity metrics. Gopalpur Ports’ key clients include Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, JSW Minerals Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd. The domestic port facilities of Adani Ports have a total capacity of 600 million metric tonnes.