HIT, owned by KKR, acquires 4 Road Assets from Macquarie India

KKR's infrastructure investment trust, the Highways Infrastructure Trust (HIT), has successfully completed the acquisition of four road assets from Macquarie India in a deal valued at Rs 30 billion. The purchase includes Gujarat Road and Infrastructure (GRICL) and Swarna Tollway (STPL), both of which possess two toll roads each. Previously, Adani Road Transport had intended to acquire these road assets for Rs 31 billion, but the deal was cancelled last month due to unsatisfactory conditions.GRICL's toll roads are located in Gujarat, specifically the 51.6 km stretch from Ahmedabad to Mehsana on SH-41 and the 31.7 km stretch from Vadodara to Halol on SH-87, which forms part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. In contrast, STPL's assets are situated in Andhra Pradesh and include a 110-km stretch from Tada to Nellore on NH-16, connecting major ports like Chennai and Krishnapatnam, as well as the 48-km Nandigama-Ibrahimpatnam-Vijayawada stretch on NH-65, which serves as a feeder traffic route to NH-16.As of March 31, 2023, KKR holds an 89.99 per cent stake in HIT, while Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan possesses 7.51 per cent, with the remainder being owned by various institutional and non-institutional shareholders.In addition to this acquisition, HIT is expected to emerge as the winner of a 316-km-long highway asset through the ToT 12 auction conducted by the National Highways Authority of India. HIT submitted the highest bid of Rs 41.81 billion for this auction, which covers a single road stretch from Lalitpur to Lakhnadon on NH26 in Madhya Pradesh. This particular stretch is included in the 12th bundle of roads offered under the toll-operate-transfer deal.