Shapoorji Pallonji Group to buy 51% stake in Gopalpur port from Odisha

This is a major acquisition by the group after the ouster of Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons

The Odisha government has given its nod for the sale of 51 per cent stake in Gopalpur port to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, owned by Cyrus Mistry’s family.

This is a major acquisition by the group after the ouster of Mistry as the chairman of Tata Sons. The port is expected to service a 3,000-acre industrial park and special economic zone being set up by Tata Steel nearby.

Gopalpur port, in south Odisha, was promoted by GPL Ltd and jointly owned by Orissa Stevedores Limited (OSL), New Delhi-based Sara International Limited (SIL). It currently has a multi-purpose berth with 3.5 million tonnes of dry bulk capacity per annum.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group proposed to acquire SIL’s entire stake of 49.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent from OSL’s holdings at an estimated Rs 700 crore. OSL’s stake in GPL will now decline to 49 per cent from 50.5 per cent.

Sources close to the development said Rs 130 crore from the deal would be used for debt repayment. Similarly, about Rs 350 crore would be spent on refunding advances made by Jindal Steel and Power to the port promoters in the latter’s unsuccessful bid to take over the port four years ago.

“Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has cleared the stake-sale proposal. Following this, the state government has to sign a fresh pact with the port developers, amending the concession agreement,” said a senior official of the state commerce and transport department.

GPL, initially promoted by OSL, SIL and Hong Kong-based Noble Group, was awarded the port development work in 2008. Noble pulled out of the consortium in 2010.  

The port’s capacity was envisaged at 54 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and it was to be developed at Rs 3,500 crore. But the development work suffered as the promoters were unable to arrange funds. Successive cyclones in 2013 and 2014 had also affected the project.

The share transfer in Gopalpur port comes at a time when its majority stakeholder OSL is in a soup, with its Managing Director Mahimananda Mishra being arrested in a case relating to murder of a senior officer of rival Seeways Shipping and Logistics.