Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ), India’s biggest private port operator, announced on Thursday a USD 2.4 billion non-cash acquisition of a coal export terminal in Australia from a group company. As part of a non-cash transaction, APSEZ will issue 14.38 crore equity shares under preferential allotment route to the seller (a related party), which will result in a net increase of 2.13% in promoter group holding.
The transaction is subject to requisite approvals, including from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), shareholders and the Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia, and is expected to close in two quarters.
APSEZ board said that it approved the acquisition of Abbot Point Port Holdings Pte Ltd (APPH), Singapore, from Carmichael Rail and Port Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore (CRPSHPL). CRPSHPL is a related party.
APPH holds the entities which own and operate the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT), a dedicated export terminal with a current nameplate capacity of 50 million tonnes per annum. APSEZ had originally acquired the NQXT for USD 2 billion in 2011. Two years later, in 2013, the Adani family purchased the asset from APSEZ for the same amount, along with the capital invested, enabling the company to concentrate on expanding its domestic operations.
The latest transaction will be completed on a non-cash basis. APSEZ will issue 14.38 crore equity shares to CRPSHPL in exchange for acquisition of 100% interest in APPH. This is based on enterprise value of NQXT of A$ 3,975 million (about USD 2.4 million).
The acquisition, according to APSEZ, will accelerate their target of doubling its volumes to 1 billion tonnes per annum by FY30, with a potential to near quadruple its volume from 35 million tonnes in FY25 to 120 million tonnes, including potential exports of green hydrogen from Australia.
Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director & CEO, APSEZ, said the acquisition of NQXT is a pivotal step in their international strategy, opening new export markets and securing long-term contracts with valued users. “We are targeting EBITDA growing to A$ 400 million within 4 years,” he said.
NQXT is a natural deep-water, multi-user export terminal. Cargo from NQXT was exported to 15 countries including 88% to Asia and 10% Europe. NQXT posted FY25 revenue of A$ 349 million and EBITDA of A$ 228 million (incremental EBITDA margin in excess of 90% for APSEZ, excluding pass-through O&M cost included in the revenue).