Adani Group completes acquisition of 23.5% stake in Mumbai Airport; to hike ownership to 74%

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has completed acquisition of 23.5 per cent equity stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) from Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Limited for Rs 1,685.2 crore. The Indian multinational conglomerate is set to extend shareholding to 74 per cent in MIAL, a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India and GVK Industries, which would provide the Group ownership of the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport, in which MIAL holds majority stake.

Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, has bought 28.20 crore equity shares in MIAL, that operates the Mumbai airport - the largest in the country after Delhi.

"Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), the flagship holding company of Adani Group for its airports business and a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, has acquired 23.5 per cent equity stake i.e. 28,20,00,000 equity shares of Rs 10 of Mumbai International Airport Limited from ACSA Global Limited (ACSA) and Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Limited (Bidvest)," the company said in a regulatory filing.

Also read: Adani Group set to acquire 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport

Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) stated that this acquisition forms part of the transaction pursuant to which AAHL proposes to acquire controlling interest in MIAL. It added that all relevant approvals have been obtained for the said acquisition.

In August last year, Adani Group had announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire GVK Group's shareholding and control of Mumbai airport. GVK Group holds 50.50 per cent equity stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), while Airports Authority of India (AAI) holds 26 per cent shareholding.

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AEL has already acquired 23.5 per cent of minority partners, ACSA and Bidvest Group. ACSA and Bidvest hold 10 and 13.5 per cent stake, respectively, in MIAL.

Last year, the union cabinet had approved the transfer of six airports on 50-year leases to AEL. The firm will take control of the airports in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. The Adani Group has won rights to operate, maintain and develop these 6 airports in a public private partnership mode.

By Chitranjan Kumar