Adani Logistics Ltd (ALL), a unit of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, on Tuesday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an inland container depot (ICD) from Navkar Corporation Ltd for an enterprise value of ₹835 crore.
The deal will comprise purchase of the operational ICD at Tumb, near Vapi in Gujarat, with a capacity to handle 0.5 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers, according to the statement.
The ICD has surplus land of 129 acres, which ALL said will provide an additional expansion path to increase cargo handling capacity in the near future as new industrial corridors and logistic parks are built along the direct freight corridor routes. The ICD has a private freight terminal with four rail handling lines connected with the western direct freight corridor, as well as custom notified land and bonded warehouse facilities.
According to ALL, the deal based on the land value and replacement cost of existing assets is priced at an enterprise value of ₹835 crore, implying an EV/Ebitda multiple of 7.8x (based on FY23(E) Ebitda). The deal is subject to regulatory and lender approvals and is expected to close this quarter, said the statement. EV/Ebitda stands for enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ratio.
“Tumb is one of the largest ICDs in the country. Given its strategic positioning in the middle of one of the busiest industrial zones and access to the dedicated freight corridor allows it to meaningfully serve the vast hinterland with access to two of the busiest ports on both sides, Hazira & Nhava Sheva,” said Karan Adani, chief executive and whole time director of Adani Ports.
“In addition to cargo moving by rail being 5X greener than that moving by road, another prime benefit of the access to the DFC is the savings in average transit times that is expected to be 10 hours by rail versus 24 hours by road. This acquisition fits well with our transformation strategy towards becoming a transport utility and will also move us closer to our aim of providing economical door-to-door services to our customers,” he said.
ALL is confident of growing volumes at the ICD in high double digits, Adani said. ALL is an end-to-end integrated logistics service provider with logistics infrastructures such as multimodal logistics parks, complete rail solutions for container, liquid, grain, bulk and automobiles.
