APSEZ-Terminal Investment JV raises $300 million in bonds to refinance debt

Adani International Container Terminal Pvt Ltd (AICTPL) has raised $300 million in bonds, the first by a joint venture company of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), setting the stage for other joint venture and subsidiary companies of the group to tap the capital market.

The proceeds from the bond issue will be used to refinance the existing debt of AICTPL, an equal jont venture between APSEZ and Terminal Investment Ltd (TIL), the sixth largest container terminal operator in the world majority owned by MSC, the world’s second largest container shipping line.

The ten-year bonds were sold at a fixed coupon rate of 3 per cent, making it the lowest coupon from any Indian corporate issuer in the last five years.

The issue was over-subscribed by about 10 times, with large participation from marquee real money investors. The bond issue was given investment grade rating by three international rating agencies.

AICTPL, the flagship container terminal at Mundra port, is designed to handle over 3.1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, from a quay length of 1,460 meters and a draft of 17.5 meters, capable of handling the largest container ships operating in the world.

This makes AICTPL a prime destination for transshipment cargo together with the strategic location of Mundra.

The bond issue is in line with Adani Group’s philosophy to tap the capital market to re-engineer the capital structure for assets and finance them with debt extending for the life of the project. The issuance also fits in well with TIL’s strategy to diversify and optimise funding sources for its terminal companies around the globe.

“Our relationship with TIL is very important to us and holds the key to our strategy for making Mundra a container hub for the region and AICTPL as our flagship terminal,” said Karan Adani, CEO and WholeTime Director of APSEZ.

“The first note issuance by a port vertical joint venture V company also paves the way and sets the benchmark for other JV and subsidiary companies of the group to tap the capital market,” Karan added.