India’s fair trade regulator, Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL) by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Ltd. The proposed transaction involves acquisition of equity shareholding along with management control of 100 per cent of the total issued and outstanding preference share capital of Krishnapatnam Port Company, a combination notice filed with the regulator noted.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited by APSEZ.
In January 2020, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone acquired a controlling stake of 75 per cent from the existing shareholders of KPCL for Rs 13,500 crore.
Adani Ports is a customer-facing integrated port infrastructure services provider currently present across ten domestic ports in six maritime states of Gujarat- Mundra, Dahej, Kandla, Hazira; Goa- Mormugao; Visakhapatnam- Andhra Pradesh; Tamil Nadu- Kattupalli and Ennore; and Odisha- Dhamra. The company is also building a transhipment port at Vizhinjam, Kerala and a container terminal at Myanmar. The Acquirer manages the logistics chain (i.e. from vessels management to anchorage, pilotage, tug pulling, berthing, goods handling, internal transport, storage and handling, processing and final evacuation by road or rail).
After Mundra, Krishnapatnam is the second-largest private port in India It is located in Nellore district, the southernmost coastal district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. KPCL is engaged as a developer and operator of the deep water port at Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, pursuant to the concession agreement on Build-Operate-Share-Transfer basis with Government of Andhra Pradesh for a period of thirty years from the date of commercial operations and entitled for a further period of 20 years (two periods of 10 years each).
