Brokerages have given a thumbs-up to the deal between Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) and Warburg Pincus. This comes a day after the Gautam Adani-led firm had announced the sale of 0.49 per cent to Warburg Pincus for Rs 800 crore.

Foreign brokerages feel the transaction will see Adani Ports having the flexibility to raise capital for future acquisitions, including that of Concor which has been put on the block by the government.

On Sunday, Adani Ports had said that it will allot up to 1,00,00,000 equity shares to Windy Lakeside Investment Ltd on a preferential basis at a price of Rs 800 per share aggregating to Rs 800 crore. This represented a premium of almost 7 per cent to the closing price of Rs 748.55 of the APSEZ scrip on the BSE last Friday.

The Adani Ports share on Monday hit a new high because of the Warburg Pincus transaction. On the BSE, the share opened higher at Rs 766.40 and hit a intra-day high of 768.40. It ended at 748.50 compared with the previous close of Rs 748.55. At present, APSEZ has a market cap of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. However, the Warburg Pincus deal values the company at around Rs 1.63 lakh crore.

Brokerages were positive on the company after the announcement of the deal. Citi, which has a buy rating on the stock and a target price of Rs 935, said the preferential issue cements its valuation and because of this, Adani Ports will have the flexibility to raise capital to fund future acquisitions like that of Concor.

Morgan Stanley, which has an over-weight rating on APSEZ, said the transaction is being done at a premium to the current market price and that it must be seen in the context of the Gangavaram Port (GPL) deal announced last week. According to the brokerage, the latest deal shows the confidence of the investor in the company.

Last week, Adani Ports had said it will acquire 31.5 per cent held by Windy Lakeside Investment in GPL for Rs 1,954 crore subject to regulatory approvals. APSEZ added that it is also in discussions with its promoter— DVS Raju and family — for their 58.1 per cent stake (translating to around 30 crore shares) in GPL.