With an aim to become India’s biggest private airport operator, Adani Group is eyeing on acquiring a 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) at an estimated amount of INR 15,000 crore, sources revealed on Monday.
As of now, GVK Group owns the majority of the stakes (50.5%) followed by Airports Authority of India which owns 26% and then 23.5% are held by GVK’s minority partners—Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the Bidvest group.
According to a Business Standard report, Adani Group might acquire the 50.5% stake of GVK as well as the remaining 23.5% from the minority partners.
As per sources, multiple teams are working on the Adani-GVK deal. While talks are at a nascent stage, it might lead to the Hyderabad based group exiting the venture.
The Gautam Adani-led Adani Group showed its interest in MAIL by agreeing to acquire 13.5% stake of Bidvest group In March 2019, which was blocked by GVK group by claiming the right of first refusal but couldn’t match their bid.
Now as the group is under debt it has come around the idea of selling the stakes to the Adani Group.
After the Adani group acquires the major stakes in MAIL, which operates the country’s second-largest airport, it will also give the group ownership of the upcoming Navi Mumbai Airport in which MIAL holds 74% of the stakes.
The Adani Group, after seaports, is betting big on airports. It already has six non-metro airports under its belt in Lucknow, Jaipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru. With the acquisition of another airport, the group will come a step closer to its ambition to be the largest private airport operator in the country as unveiled in its 2019-20 annual report.
Adani Group in lines with its plans will develop world-class infrastructure, enhance passenger experience and create entertainment destinations. The Group plans to increase the domestic airline connectivity to new and underserved destinations and increase the number of flights to long haul destinations in west and south-east Asia.
