GVK completes Rs 2,200-cr stake sale in Bangalore Airport project

GVK Power and Infrastructure on Friday announced that it has completed the stake sale in Bangalore International Airport Project (BIAL).

It has divested 33 per cent of its stake in Bangalore Airport and Infrastructure Developers — wholly owned subsidiary of BIAL — to Fairfax India Holdings Corporation, for an aggregate amount of Rs 2,202 crore ($336.18 million).

It may be recalled that the company had first announced the stake sale deal with Fairfax in March 2016, while it took one full year to complete the process owing to delay in foreign direct investment (FDI) clearances among other things. Post sale, GVK group would have 10 per cent stake in this profit-making airport asset.

"We reiterate that our primary focus is on de-leveraging our balance sheet, and all proceeds from this stake sale shall be used to bring down our debt obligations to our lenders. We look forward to partnering with Fairfax and working with all the stakeholders in developing Kempegowda International Airport through its next stage expansion," said GVK Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, G V Krishna Reddy.

G V K Reddy will continue to be the co-chairman of BIAL and G V Sanjay Reddy will lead the management team as the managing director of BIAL.

"GVK continues to remain bullish as a pioneer and long-term investor in airport assets in India. Having qualified as the highest bidder for the Navi Mumbai airport recently, we shall continue to build iconic assets for the country," Reddy added.

GVK is a Hyderabad-based Indian conglomerate with presence across energy, resources, airports, transportation, hospitality and lifesciences sector. It currently operates Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai besides the green-field Kempegowda Airport in Bengaluru.