NIIF buys 2 Essel Group assets marking foray into roads sector

NEW DELHI: Nearly a year since it first initiated talks, the Subhash Chandra-backed Essel Group has managed to sell off two road assets — Essel Devanahalli Tollway and Essel Dichpally Tollway — to the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). This is the first investment that NIIF has made in the road and highways sector, according to Vinod Giri, managing partner at NIIF. 

While the deal size was not disclosed, the acquisition is done through the NIIF Master Fund, and the projects will be managed by Athaang Infrastructure, NIIF’s proprietary roads platform backed by a team of experienced professionals with rich domain expertise in the transportation sector.

Subhash Chandra’’s debt-laden Essel Group has been in talks with NIIF to sell these assets since last year for an estimated Rs 1,500-1,800 crore. NIIF is an investment platform for investors, anchored by the Centre and manages over $4.3 billion of equity capital commitments.