Fairfax India Holdings Corporation Tuesday said it is buying an additional 10% stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) for $255 million (₹2,160 crore), entrenching its foothold in one of India’s busiest airports.
The stake is being acquired from Germany’s Siemens, which will cease to be a shareholder in BIAL after the transaction. Fairfax India’s stake in BIAL will climb from 64% to 74%.
Stakes of the two other shareholders-Airports Authority of India and Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation will remain unchanged at 13% each in BIAL.
The deal, expected to close in the March quarter, values BIAL at $2.55 billion based on the disclosed price for the stake purchase.
“We would like to thank Siemens for the great partnership we have enjoyed since our initial investment in BIAL in 2017. This additional investment in BIAL is a testament to our belief in the continued growth opportunities presented by BIAL and a phenomenal track record demonstrated by Hari Marar and his management team in capitalising on those opportunities,” said Prem Watsa, founder of Fairfax India.
Watsa, an Indian-Canadian billionaire, founded Fairfax India in 2014 to create a separate vehicle for making investments in India companies.
Fairfax Financial Holdings-a global property and casualty insurance company with $93 billion in assets-is the company’s controlling shareholder. Watsa is the chairman and CEO of Fairfax Holdings.
Apart from BIAL, Fairfax India also owns a controlling stake in CSB Bank. Its other investments include stakes in IIFL Finance, Fairchem Organics, Sanmar and Seven Islands Shipping. Fairfax also owns a stake in Thomas Cook India but that is held directly by Fairfax Financial Holdings.
Fairfax first acquired a 33% stake in BIAL in 2016 from its previous shareholder GVK Power and Infrastructure. It increased its stake in tranches by purchasing more shares from GVK and other shareholders such as Zurich Airport and Siemens, all of whom have now exited the airport operator.
BIAL is a Bengaluru-based private company. It has a concession agreement with the Indian government till 2068 to exclusively carry out development, design, financing, construction, commissioning, maintenance, operation and management of the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru through a public-private partnership.
Source: Economic Times