Bharat Road Network Limited (“BRNL”) signed an agreement on Thursday with India Highway Concession Trust, an infrastructure investment trust set up by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global institutional investor. The agreement involves the sale of a BOT road project in the state of Odisha.
Notably, BRNL is currently the largest shareholder, with a 40% stake in this project.
Bajrang Kumar Choudhary, Managing Director, BRNL said, “The transaction is in line with BRNL’s strategic plan for stakeholder value creation through portfolio assets reallocation while focusing on enhancing operational excellence and increasing financial efficiencies in existing assets. The transaction is expected to help BRNL in reducing its debts and will also provide the company with funds for reinvesting in its existing assets under construction.”
As per the regulatory filing, the Share Purchase Agreement provides for the complete transfer of ownership of Shree Jagannath Expressway Private Limited, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) engaged in the development, operation and maintenance of a 67-kilometre toll road project from Bhubaneswar to Chandikhole, in Odisha. Project operations started in December 2011, with an initial concession period of 26 years.
Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure, CDPQ, said, “We are thrilled with the acquisition of Shree Jagannath Expressway. It will be the first asset integrated into the new CDPQ-owned roads platform in India, which we set up and staffed in 2020. This reflects our long-term confidence and interest for the sector and more broadly the Indian infrastructure market.”
CDPQ will carry out its first transportation investment in India with the purchase of a 67-kilometre expressway from BRNL and its partners. Meanwhile, the sale will allow BRNL to reduce the debt and also to utilise the proceeds for organic and inorganic growth.
BRNL indicates that with a marked recovery in commercial traffic on Indian highways to pre-pandemic levels, the deal signals the renewed focus on M&A activities in the roads sector.
The transaction is now subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
At around 2.33 pm, BRNL was trading at Rs34.80 per piece up 2.35% on Sensex.