Adani Ports and SEZ, the country’s biggest private port operator, on Thursday said it has acquired a coal export terminal in Australia from a group company in a $2.4-billion non-cash deal. The move is aimed at strengthening presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The company has bought Abbot Point Port Holdings (APPH), Singapore, from Carmichael Rail and Port Singapore Holdings Singapore (CRPSHPL), according to a statement.
APPH owns the entities which own and operate the North Queensland Export Terminal, a dedicated export terminal with a current capacity of 50 million tonne per annum (MTPA). The terminal is located at Port of Abbot Point, nearly 25 km north of Bowen in north Queensland on Australia’s east coast.
In 2011, APSEZ had acquired the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) at Abbott Point for $2 billion. Two years later in 2013, the Adani family purchased the asset from APSEZ for the same amount, along with the capital invested, allowing the company to focus on Indian operations.
However, over the last two years, APSEZ has been seeking to dominate maritime routes where Indian trade is expected to increase.
“APSEZ will issue 143 million equity shares to CRPSHPL for acquiring 100% interest in APPH. This is based on enterprise value of NQXT of A$3,975 million. As part of the transaction, APSEZ will also assume other non-core assets and liabilities on APPH’s balance sheet, which APSEZ will realise within a few months of the acquisition,” the statement said. APSEZ’s leverage will remain at similar levels after the transaction.
“NQXT’s acquisition is a pivotal step in our international strategy, opening new export markets and securing long-term contracts with valued users,” Ashwani Gupta, whole-time director & CEO, APSEZ, said.
NQXT is poised for robust growth as a high-performing asset driven by increased capacity, upcoming contract renewals in the medium term, and the potential for green hydrogen exports in the long term, Gupta said. He added that they are looking to grow Ebitda to A$400 million within four years.
The acquisition will accelerate APSEZ’s target of doubling its volumes to 1 billion tonne per annum by FY30, with a potential to near-quadruple its volume – from 35 million tonne in FY25 to 120 million tonne – including potential exports of green hydrogen from Australia, the company said.
This is the fourth overseas acquisition for APSEZ in the past two years. With this, the company now has a portfolio of 19 ports and terminals – 15 domestic and four overseas. A port in Israel and terminals in Tanzania and Sri Lanka are the three other international locations where APSEZ has operations.