Mumbai: Ahmedabad-headquartered Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) said Thursday that it will buy a port terminal in Australia’s Queensland from a promoter company in a non-cash deal that values the 50-million-tonnes-per-annum (MTPA) capacity asset at an enterprise value of A$3,975 million (approximately ₹21,640 crore or $2.5 billion).
The Adanis’ flagship port company will issue 143.8 million equity shares to Carmichael Rail and Port Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore (CRPSHPL). CRPSHPL is a promoter-owned entity that ultimately owns the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT). The transaction will see promoter shareholding in APSEZ go up by 2.13 percentage points to 68.02%.
APSEZ had first purchased the port terminal in 2011 for about ₹9,000 crore, as per news reports. However, the asset was sold to the Adani family in 2013 to manage the debt of the listed company.
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“NQXT’s acquisition is a pivotal step in our international strategy, opening new export markets and securing long-term contracts with valued users,” Ashwani Gupta, whole-time director & CEO, APSEZ, said in a press statement.
The terminal is strategically located on the East-West trade corridor, he said. The company is aiming to grow the Ebitda from the asset to A$400 million (about $255 million) in four years, Gupta further said. It recorded an Ebitda of A$ 228 million in FY25. Ebitda refers to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.
The terminal has a rated capacity of 50 MTPA and the company estimates that the capacity can be ramped up to 120 MTPA as demand grows. In the previous fiscal year (FY25), the terminal handled 35 million metric tonnes of cargo, the company said.
As part of the transaction, APSEZ will also assume other non-core assets and liabilities associated with the terminal. However, APSEZ’s leverage will remain at similar levels post the transaction, the company said.
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NQXT is a natural deep-water, multi-user export terminal at the Port of Abbot Point, approximately 25 km north of Bowen, in North Queensland on Australia’s east coast. It is under a long-term lease from the Queensland Government till the year 2110.
The terminal has a “high quality customer base” operating in the Bowen and Galilee mining basins. These mining companies export metallurgical and energy coal to over 15 countries from NQXT.
APSEZ is India’s largest commercial ports operator, and accounts for almost one-fourth of the cargo movement in the country. The expansion is part of APSEZ’s stated goal of handling 1 billion tonnes per annum capacity by 2030. It handled 450 million tonnes in FY25, as per an investor presentation.
The company reported consolidated revenue of ₹26,711 crore in FY24, and net profit of ₹8,104 crore, per data from the BSE.
The company’s shares closed 2.2% higher at ₹1,259.90 on the BSE on Thursday. The transaction was announced after market hours.
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