IRB Infrastructure Trust, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), has signed a binding term sheet to transfer two operational build-operate-transfer highway projects to its publicly listed InvIT, IRB InvIT Fund, with a combined enterprise value of Rs 46.05 bn. The transfer is part of the sponsor's capital recycling strategy and follows a non-binding offer exchanged on 14 May 2026. The boards of the investment managers of both entities approved the deal at meetings held on Thursday.

Under the terms, IRB Infrastructure Developers will serve as project manager for the two BOT projects after their transfer to the listed InvIT, retaining operational responsibility during the ownership shift. The structure preserves continuity during the handover. The move will increase the sponsor's operations and maintenance order book by approximately Rs 24 bn, reinforcing its execution pipeline.

IRB's chairperson and managing director, Virendra Mhaiskar, characterised the signing as another iteration of the company's B.E.S.T. strategy and said it underlined the strength of its capital recycling model. He observed that monetising mature assets through the private InvIT and redeploying the released capital into new opportunities creates a self-sustaining growth platform that compounds shareholder value without incremental equity infusion at the sponsor level. The agreement formalises commercial and governance arrangements, including transfer timelines and oversight responsibilities.

Mhaiskar added that the transaction strengthens both InvITs by enhancing the public InvIT's portfolio with seasoned, revenue-generating assets and by lengthening concession life, while replenishing capital in the private InvIT for future acquisitions and development. He described the approach as scalable and said it advances IRB's transition into a premier sponsor and operations and maintenance platform. The company is targeting an asset base of Rs 1.4 tn over the next three to four years.

Earlier, IRB Group and its two sponsored InvITs reported collective toll revenue of Rs 8.43 bn in May 2026, up 25 per cent year on year. The sponsors indicated that periodic monetisation and redeployment will remain a central element of their capital allocation framework going forward.