PNC Infratech gets NHAI nod to transfer 100% stake in road assets to HIT

Earlier, during its annual general meeting on September 28, 2024, the company had approved the sale of 12 road assets

PNC Infratech has received an in-principle approval from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the transfer of a 100 per cent stake in shares held by PNC Infra Holdings and its associates in three road assets to Highways Infrastructure Trust (HIT), an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT).

 

According to the company’s stock exchange filing, the assets are viz., PNC Bithur Kanpur Highways Private Limited, PNC Gomti Highways Private Limited, and PNC Aligarh Highways Private Limited. The company received the approvals on November 19. The total net worth of these assets is around Rs 226.05 crore.

 

Earlier, in its annual general meeting on September 28, the company had approved the sale of 12 road assets, including the above-mentioned assets, for an approximate aggregate enterprise value of Rs 9,005.7 crore. 

 

As per PNC Infratech’s stock exchange filing, the company entered into an agreement with Highways Infrastructure Trust on January 15, 2024, for the asset divestment purposes.

 

The approval is a part of the statutory process pursuant to the Rs 9,005 crore deal between PNC Infratech, PNC Infra Holdings (a subsidiary of PNC Infratech), and Highways Infrastructure Trust (HIT), an InvIT controlled by KKR & Co. Inc.

 

The deal, which was signed in January, involves the divestment of 12 road assets owned by PNC Infratech and PNC Infra Holdings. It includes eleven National Highway (NH) Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) assets and one State Highway BOT Toll asset with approximately 3,800 lane kilometers in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

 

A source said PNC Infratech is in the process of fulfilling the conditions precedents for the deal viz. “change in control” approvals from the highway authorities and no objection certificates from the lenders to the projects.

 

PNC Infratech is expected to close the deal for ten of the twelve assets by the close of this financial year, comprising 85.per cent of the total deal. The deal for the remaining two assets is expected to be completed by H1FY26. This deal is one of the largest in terms of value in the Indian roads sector.