MARG'S KARAIKAL PORT RAISES EQUITY FOR EXPANSION PLANS
India Infrastructure Fund managed by IDFC Project Equity Company Limited, injects Rs 1500 Million into the equity share capital of Karaikal Port Pvt. Ltd.
Chennai, April 05, 2010: Karaikal Port Private Ltd (KPPL) a wholly owned subsidiary of MARG Ltd, a leading infrastructure and real estate development company has finalized its fund raising plans for its second phase of expansion.
Karaikal port is a deep-water port at Karaikal located on the Eastern coast of India in Karaikal District of Puducherry state around 320 Km along the coast south of Chennai Port. The port is envisaged to have a total of 9 berths capable of handling 47 MTPA. The port is to be developed over 3 phases with the final phase getting operational by 2016. Phase I of the development, which is currently operational comprises of two berths - one each for coal and general cargo. Phase II currently under implementation involves a Capex of ~ Rs. 15,000 million. This phase shall be operational by September 2011 and will take the capacity of the port to 21 MT.
India Infrastructure Fund (IIF), which is managed by IDFC Project Equity Company Limited, will be investing Rs 1,500 million into equity share capital of KPPL towards the Phase II expansion.
Commenting on the investment, Mr. M K Sinha, Managing Director & CEO, IDFC Project Equity Ltd. said: "Port investments in India are fundamentally attractive because the trade volumes will pick up. Karaikal is a bulk port which will see a lot of throughput as the port's hinterland is Tamil Nadu, an economically progressive state. The port will be a beneficiary of the incremental trade going forward,"
Mr. GRK Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, MARG Limited further added "investors have realized the huge potential in India's port sector. Karaikal Port is poised to become one of the best ports in the East Coast and the investment into the Port comes in at an opportune time. The association with an institution like IDFC will add greatly to the profile of Karaikal Port".
Edelweiss Capital Limited was the exclusive financial advisor to this transaction.
About MARG Ltd and Karaikal Port Private Limited
MARG is a Chennai based Infrastructure & Real Estate development company operating in the areas of Ports, Logistics, SEZs, EPC Contracting, Commercial & Residential Real Estate. MARG Limited posted a turnover of Rs 463 Crores for the financial year 2009-10 and for the nine months ended December 2009, the company posted a turnover of Rs 535 Crores. The shares of the company are traded in Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. MARG has been an early entrant into the Port Sector and is currently firming up plans to enter into Airports, Ship Building, Ship Repairs, Logistics Parks, Automated Parking Facility etc.
MARG is developing the Karaikal Port based on a concession from Government of Puducherry (GoP) for a period of 30 years. The concession was signed on January 2006. The Port is being developed on a BOT model under the PPP format. Phase 1 of the port has been developed at a cost of Rs 4,160 million. The port received its first vessel on April 15, 2009. Until now, the port has received more than 160 vessels and handled cargo of more than 1.5 million tonnes.
For Further information, visit www.marggroup.com
About IDFC Project Equity Company Limited
IDFC Project Equity Company Limited is a leading 'Infrastructure Equity' Investment Manager based in India. It manages the India Infrastructure Fund (IIF), a SEBI-registered domestic venture capital fund focused on infrastructure with a corpus of INR 38 billion (USD 927 million). IIF's strategy is to invest equity for the long-term in a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets in India.
IDFC Project Equity Company Limited is a 100% subsidiary of Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (IDFC) which is one of India's leading financial institutions focused on Infrastructure. IIF was another key initiative of IDFC to catalyse India's infrastructure development and was set up as part of the 'India Infrastructure Financing Initiative', a collaborative effort between the Government of India and leading Indian and global financial institutions to deploy USD 5 billion in capital for infrastructure projects in India.
For Further information, visit http://www.idfcprojectequity.com |
