GVK to buy Bidvest's pie in Mumbai airport

Hyderabad/Bangalore: Power and Infrastructure major GVK Power and Infrastructure (GVKPIL) is in advanced talks with private equity players to raise funds to buy out South African firm Bidvest’s 13.5% stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL).
If the deal goes through, GVK will gain a 51% holding in the airport. Over the last year, GVKPIL has been consolidating its investments in the airport business. At the end of 2009, it paid a total of Rs 1,170 crore to buy out its partners’, Zurich Airport and Larsen and Toubro (L&T), stake in Bangalore International Airport.
The Hyderabad-based company will pay Rs 650 crore for this latest purchase, say aviation sector analysts who estimate the value of the airport at $2 billion. “Although we are buying just 13.5%, we have to pay a premium for the stake as we are gaining management control,” said A Isaac George, chief financial officer, GVK Group.
To fund the purchase, the infrastructure company is talking to leading private equity firms such as KKR Private Equity, TPG Capital India and Macquarie, according to people close to the development.
30/03/10 Sai Deepika Amirapu & Sobia Khan/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports Mar 2010