Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, is looking to acquire a minority stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd., which was purchased by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd in August.
Sources cite that Adani Airport is planning to raise USD 750 million from the stake sale. The sovereign wealth fund is looking to invest directly in the Mumbai airport operator. However, it may also purchase a stake in parent Adani Airport. The report said that emails sent to Qatar Investment and Adani group remained unanswered.
Qatar Investment Authority currently has stakes in Adani Mumbai Electricity Ltd., a wing of Adani transmission which providers power to over 3 million customers in Mumbai. The company invested around USD 452 million (₹3,220 crores) in the utility for a 25.1% stake in Feb. 2020, including subordinated debt of ₹2,010 crores and equity of ₹1,210 crores.
In the previous month, the Adani group announced plans to acquire majority stake in India’s second-biggest airport of Mumbai, in a move that highlight the company’s ambitious goals to develop a strong presence in the Indian civil aviation sector. The company inked an agreement to purchase the debt of GVK Group Ltd in an exchange for a 50.5 % stake in the airport.
The Adani group is also planning to buy the joint 23.5% stake in MIAL currently held by Bidvest Group and Airport Company of South Africa (Acsa), for which it has gained the approval of the CCI (Competition Commission of India). This will give the company a 74 percent stake in Mumbai airport. The remaining 26% stake remains with the state-run Airports Authority of India.
The agreement also gives the company a minority stake in the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which is being developed by GVK Group. Besides, with one of the nation’s two most lucrative international airports in its portfolio and having won the operation and development rights over a 50-year lease for Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Thiruvananthapuram airports, Adani Airport has become biggest individual airport operator in India.
Source credit - https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/qatar-fund-in-talks-with-adani-to-invest-in-mumbai-airport-11602463446734.html
