"The company will sell 100 per cent stake in the Abbot Point terminal to the Adani Family.
"The equity portion in Abbot Point acquisition was around $235 million and the rest of the amount was debt portion. “The entire equity and debt portion will be transferred to the promoter family," said B Ravi, chief financial officer, APSEZ.
The company had made the Abbot Point acquisition through around $2 billion debt (about Rs 11,000 crore).
"We expect to raise at least $235 million or Rs 1,300 crore of the enterprise value of Abbot Point from this stake sale. However, the valuation is under process," added Ravi.
The stake sale will also reduce company's debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio significantly from around 3.2:1 to about 1.2:1.
The decision to sell stake comes on the back of a lower rate of return on foreign operations and the strained financial conditions after the Abbot Point acquisition.
"The company will concentrate more on Indian operations.
"However, it does not mean that it will never venture into any overseas deal," said Ravi.
In a statement issued on Monday, APSEZ said the board of directors has given in-principle approval for divestment of stake in the Australian venture.
The statement, however, did not give any details on the valuations.
The proceeds of the stake sale will also be used to buy Dhamra Port from Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel for about $1 billion (about Rs 5,500 crore).
In a client note dated January 27, Citibank valued Abbott Point at Rs 10 a share on a discounted cash flow to equity basis, using a cost of equity of 13 per cent.
“To focus on the high growth Indian ports and logistics sector and maintain its leadership position in India, the board of APSEZ has in-principle decided to divest its significant stake in entities controlling the Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Queensland, Australia to the Adani family, subject to requisite approvals, formalities and clearances, at a valuation determined by an independent valuer,”
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