Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India's largest transport utility, has finalised the acquisition of Karaikal Port Private Ltd (KPPL) with the sanction of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). APSEZ had previously been deemed the winning resolution applicant under KPPL's Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

"The acquisition of Karaikal Port is another milestone in solidifying our position as India's largest transport utility," said APSEZ CEO and Whole-time Director Karan Adani in a statement. APSEZ presently manages 14 ports in India after acquiring the Karaikal port. APSEZ would invest an additional Rs 850 crores in infrastructure over time to minimise logistical costs for consumers. We plan to treble the port's capacity in the next five years and construct a container terminal to make it a multifunctional port."

"In FY 2023, Karaikal Port handled - 10 MMT of cargo, and acquisition consideration of Rs 1,485 crores suggests an EV/EBITDA multiple of - 8x on FY23 EBITDA number," Karan Adani added.

The port is said to have a 14-meter water draught and a land area of more than 600 acres. Its present infrastructure comprises 5 operating ports, 3 railway sidings, a mechanised bulk cargo handling system with wagon-loading and truck-loading systems, 2 mobile harbour cranes, and a huge cargo storage area with open yards, 10 covered warehouses, and 4 liquid storage tanks.

The port primarily handles Cement, Fertilizer, Limestone, Steel, and Liquids and has a built-in cargo handling capacity of 21.5 MMT. The proposed CPCL 9 MMTPA new refinery in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, provides a possibility for Karaikal Port to handle a larger volume of liquid cargo.

The Karaikal Port is an all-weather deep-water port on India's eastern coast that was built, operated, and transferred by the Government of Puducherry under a Public-Private Partnership. The port opened in 2009 in the Karaikal District of the Union Territory of Puducherry, some 300 kilometres south of Chennai. It is the only major port between Chennai and Tuticorin, and its strategic location offers it easy access to Central Tamil Nadu's industrially wealthy hinterland.