New Delhi, October 24
GMR Group has signed an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for an Rs 6,300 crore investment in the structured debt instruments of GMR Infra Enterprises Private Limited.
The transaction, aimed at improving GMR's financial health, is subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of certain conditions.
Once the deal is completed, GMR Group plans to utilize the investment proceeds to refinance all external debt of GMR Enterprise Private Limited (GEPL), the promoter of GMR Airports Limited.
The refinancing will also significantly reduce the GMR promoter group's pledged shareholding in GMR Airports Limited, consolidating multiple lenders into a single source of capital.
Kiran Grandhi, Corporate Chairman, GMR Group, said, "Over recent years, we have successfully reduced a significant quantum of corporate debt. We have also demerged GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited from GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited, and merged GMR Airports Limited with GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited to form GMR Airports Limited, a pure play, publicly listed airport platform."
She added, "This investment from ADIA will facilitate the repayment of all external debt at GEPL, strengthening our ability to support the continued growth of GAL."
Khadem AlRemeithi, Executive Director of the Infrastructure Department at ADIA said: "India's aviation sector has strong growth prospects, backed by the positive long-term fundamentals of the Indian economy, while GMR Group is one of the country's leading airport operators."
He added, "This investment aligns with our approach of backing entities which are developing world class transport assets that benefit from demographic growth and increased economic connectivity."