Mumbai: Cube Highways and Infrastructure, the Indian roads and highways platform of global infrastructure fund I Squared Capital, on Thursday said that it has agreed to acquire DA Toll Road Pvt. Ltd, which operates a toll road in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, from Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. The enterprise value of the transaction is around ₹3,600 crore, RInfra said in a statement. The proceeds will be utilized for debt reduction.
On completion of the transaction, the Cube Highways portfolio will have over 4,500 lane-km of highways across India, the statement said. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Investment bank Ambit Pvt. Ltd acted as financial adviser to Reliance Infra.
DA Toll Road operates the 180-km, six-lane Delhi-Agra highway (NH2). The road is a 26-year concession granted in 2010 for strengthening and widening the four-lane highway to a six-lane configuration and began collecting tolls in October 2012.
“We are pleased to expand our presence in the Indian highway sector with the acquisition of another quality asset. This investment reinforces Cube Highways’ position as a leading player in the Indian highway sector and furthers its disciplined growth plan of acquiring strategically located roads from leading construction companies and developers," said Gautam Bhandari, director of Cube Highways and Partner, I Squared Capital.
The completion of the transaction is contingent upon fulfilment of regulatory and lender approvals.
“DA Toll Road forms a core part of NH2, a main artery of the national highways network connecting North to East and Central India. The road has robust growth potential as it connects major industrial and tourist centers in north India including Delhi, Faridabad, Mathura and Agra. We anticipate even further growth following completion the entire NH 2 road project," said Harikishan Reddy, chief executive officer of Cube Highways Advisors.
Reliance Group companies have sued HT Media Ltd, Mint’s publisher, and nine others in the Bombay high court over a 2 October 2014 front-page story that they have disputed. HT Media is contesting the case.
