Wednesday, May 04,
The Ahmedabad-based Adani Group has acquired an Australian port, Abbot Point Coal Terminal (APCT), for Australian $1.8 billion (Rs8, 750 crore).*
The port in the Queensland state is operational with capacity of 50 million tonnes (mt). Adani Group’s Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone (MPSEZ), which has market capitalisation of around ¤27,800 crore, has won the bid and acquired the port in three stages in six months.
The deal signed in Brisbane, Australia, between the company officials and the Queensland government on Tuesday.
“Right now, we are owner of the port but operations of it are already given to some other company, whose tenure will last in 2015. Till then, if we want, we can add up capacity by 30 MT and increase the total capacity to 80 MT in next three to four years,” said chief financial officer, B Ravi, MPSEZ Ltd.
For next five years, other customers already book the coal supply from APCT. “Hence, till 2015 Adani Group may not be able to use the port to fulfill its own purpose. The operator already has bookings for next five years. In case, any customer cancels the order than we can start supplying coal from APCT to India for our own purpose,” he said. The acquisition is partly funded through debt and a small portion of equity from MPSEZ.
The port is expected to get assured supply as Adani also owns a coal mine in Australia. “The terminal will mean a good support to the group’s mining activity, while the mine will offer assured volumes for the proposed terminal,” said an analyst from a domestic brokerage firm.
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