Adani Ports & SEZ wins bid for Karaikal Port

Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) has won the bidding for Karaikal Port with a Rs 12 billion offer that surpassed that of rival Vedanta, according to a report citing unnamed sources. Bidding for the port was conducted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) guidelines. The lenders to Karaikal Port met last week to approve APSEZ's offer, which will now be taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for final approval, said the report. APSEZ and Vedanta declined to comment on the matter. The 600-acre port, built under a public-private partnership between the government of Puducherry and Chennai-based MARG Ltd, faced financial constraints which resulted in the outstanding debt ballooning to Rs 30 billion crore due to defaults and delays in repayments. APSEZ is the largest port operator in India and owns 12 ports including Mundra Port, the largest private port in the country. The company recently acquired Gangavaram Port in Andhra Pradesh for Rs 62 billion. The Karaikal Port received initial bids from five applicants - JSW Infra, Jindal Power, APSEZ, Vedanta and a consortium of RKG Fund and Sagacious Capital. APSEZ and Vedanta eventually submitted binding financial bids whereas the others did not. See also: Essar completes sale of port assets to Arcelor/Nippon Port infrastructure may get Rs 2 trillion upgrade