The Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) is selling its 56 per cent stake in Gopalpur Ports Limited to Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) for an enterprise value of Rs 3,350 crore as part of a debt reduction exercise.

The monetisation of the Odisha port was one of the covenants attached to a bond issue by a group firm.

A group of lenders had subscribed to a Rs 14,300-crore bond issue by group company Goswami Infratech in 2023 on the condition of monetising the stake in the Gopalpur port.

Since it could not sell the port by December 2023, yields on the bond went up two percentage points to 20.75 per cent.

If it were unsuccessful in divesting the port by the end of this month, yields on the debentures would have gone up further to 22.75 per cent. In December, the SP group sold the Dharamtar Port in Maharashtra to JSW Infrastructure at an enterprise value of
Rs 710 crore.

The group acquired the under-construction Gopalpur port in 2017, which now has the capacity to handle cargo of 20 million tonnes annually. An LNG gasification terminal is planned at Gopalpur in collaboration with Petronet LNG.

“The planned divestments of Gopalpur Port and Dharamtar Port, at a significant enterprise value, demonstrate our group’s ability to turn around assets and create stakeholder value in a relatively short period, capitalising our core strengths in project development and construction,” an SP group spokesperson said.

In a separate statement, APSEZ said it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the 56 per cent stake of the SP Group and 39 per cent of Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL) in Gopalpur Port. It disclosed the equity consideration for a 95 per cent stake is Rs 1,349 crore.

“The acquisition of Gopalpur Port will allow us to deliver more integrated and enhanced solutions to our customers,’’ APSEZ managing director Karan Adani said.

“In our view, the Gopalpur Port is all set for strong growth and margin expansion in 2024-25 with opportunities already identified for achieving higher operational efficiencies and infra debottlenecking, implying further value accretion for APSEZ shareholders,” APSEZ said.

APSEZ said the state government awarded a 30-year concession to GPL in 2006, providing two extensions of 10 years each.

As a deep draft, multi-cargo port, Gopalpur handles a diverse mix of dry bulk cargo, including iron ore, coal, limestone, ilmenite sand, and alumina. It handled 7.4 million tonnes in 2022-23.