Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) has completed the acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. (KPCL) for an enterprise value (EV) Rs 12,000 crore. Adani Group in a press release said that the acquisition will result in APSEZ to have a controlling stake in KPCL of 75 per cent.

Krishnapatnam port provides multi-cargo facilities and is situated in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh. In FY21, it is expected to generate an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) of around Rs 1,200 crore, resulting in an acquisition EV/ EBITDA multiple of 10.

The acquisition of KPCL will result in boosting APSEZ’s progress towards handling cargo capacity of 500 million tonnes by 2025 and cargo parity strategy between the west and east coasts of India, the group said.

“With a vast waterfront and land availability of over 6,700 acres, KPCL is capable of replicating Mundra and would-be future-ready to handle 500 million tonnes,” said CEO and Director of APSEZ, Karan Advani. “We will replicate our operations and maintenance philosophy at KPCL, continue to focus on the environment, reduce emission levels and have zero tolerance for fatalities and thus improve returns to stakeholders.”

APSEZ is India’s largest private port operator and its 11 strategically located ports and terminals represents 24 per cent of the total port capacity of India. Mundra, Kandla, Dahej and Hazira in Gujarat, Dhamra in Odisha, Mormugao in Goa, Kattupalli and Ennore in Chennai and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh are the operating ports and terminals of APSEZ.