Bharat Road to sell 39pc in GAEPL, to pare Rs 600cr debt

Bharat Road Network Ltd (BRNL) has entered into an agreement with Singapore's venture capital Cube Highways and Infrastructure Pte Ltd for sale of its 39 per cent stake in road project company, Ghaziabad Aligarh Expressway Private Ltd (GAEPL).

City-based infrastructure company Srei has a stake of close to 20 per cent in BRNL.

"The enterprise valuation for GAEPL is Rs 1,830 crore based on valuation in December 2018. The actual valuation cannot be ascertained at present, as it would depend on adjustments at the time of handover," sources aware of the deal told PTI.

GAEPL has a debt of about Rs 1,500 crore in its books, they said.

The transaction, subject to applicable regulatory and other approvals, is expected to result in a net income of about Rs 150 crore for BRNL.

BRNL will also be able to pare about Rs 600 crore debt burden, which had swelled to Rs 1,400 crore, accumulated out of its investment in various companies.

This would be a major relief to the city-based road infrastructure company at a time when firms are grappling to reduce debt levels, an analyst said.

BRNL had recently said that one of its arms won an arbitration award of Rs 322.77 crore against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a project in Odisha.