JSW Infrastructure is in talks to buy Shapoorji Pallonji's (SP) ports arm, Gopalpur Ports, for an estimated enterprise value of 3,000 crore, which includes the company's debt. As per the sources, the unit is being divested as part of commitments made to financiers by SP's promoters, the Mistry family, in loan covenants entered into with them. SP Group has agreed to divest the unit by March 31 of next year, in accordance with the covenants. JSW Infrastructure, whose shares went public earlier this month, sees Gopalpur Ports in Odisha as a strategic fit that will complement its steel-making operations.

Gopalpur Ports operates an all-weather deep-draft port in the Odisha town of Gopalpur, which is strategically located between the well-known ports of Paradip and Vizag on India's eastern coast. It specialises in iron ore cargo, a critical raw material in JSW's steel business. The sources cited earlier warned that talks may not result in a deal.

When contacted, a senior JSW official declined to comment. Until the publication of this report, Shapoorji Pallonji had not responded to ET's inquiries.

JSW Infrastructure, India's second largest private port operator after Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, raised Rs. 2,800 crore in an initial public offering of shares in September. Its initial public offering was 37 times oversubscribed, attracting both institutional and retail investors.