Anantam Highways Trust to expand road assets with ₹400-cr IPO launch

Anantam Highways Trust, backed by Alpha Alternatives, is opening a Rs 400-cr IPO to expand its Rs 5,000-cr portfolio through Dilip Buildcon's assets, third-party deals, and fund transfers

Anantam Highways Trust, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by Alpha Alternatives, is seeking to expand its Rs 5,000-crore portfolio as it launches its Rs 400-crore initial public offering (IPO). The growth strategy is supported by a right-to-first-offer (ROFO) agreement with Dilip Buildcon, road assets from Alpha Alternatives’ Build India Infrastructure Fund, and select third-party acquisitions.

 

“We have a ROFO agreement for 11 additional assets earmarked for this InvIT, along with assets from the Build India Infrastructure Fund. It is a large fund with around Rs 4,500 crore of assets under management (AUM). Assets acquired by that fund will also be offered to the InvIT. So, we have a clear runway for growth in the coming years,” said Jignesh Shah, chief executive officer of Anantam Highways Trust, in an interview with Business Standard.

 

 

At present, the InvIT holds seven hybrid annuity model (HAM) road projects built by Dilip Buildcon, with an average residual concession life of 13 years. The trust also plans to diversify by adding toll projects in the future.

 

“Our portfolio gives us good longevity of cash flows. There is no underlying traffic risk as we have annuity assets. Cash flows are consistent. When one combines consistency with longevity, there is clear visibility on distributions to investors,” Shah said.

 

The IPO proceeds will be used primarily to deleverage the balance sheet. Shah said that post-IPO, the leverage ratio will reduce to 42 per cent, creating room for scaling up.

 

“We also intend to optimise our leverage to retain enough flexibility to provide sustainable and predictable cash flows while evaluating potential acquisition opportunities. After the issue, we believe we will have sufficient equity capital and the ability to add debt to support additional acquisitions while maintaining an optimum capital structure,” the InvIT said.

 

To finance future growth, the trust may draw on sponsor support and new investors. Both Dilip Buildcon and the Build India Infrastructure Fund are open to transferring assets into the InvIT in exchange for units.

 

“Unlike many other InvIT platforms, we have the flexibility to grow the AUM and the InvIT by issuing units. As we scale up, we also have the flexibility to enhance leverage, and if it is done for accretive acquisitions, it benefits the InvIT. As the platform expands and investors are satisfied with it, we will always have the option of raising additional primary capital at the InvIT level to fund acquisitions. So, we will deploy a mix of capital strategies to grow the InvIT,” Shah added.

 

InvITs are emerging as a preferred asset class, with their AUM rising to USD 73.3 billion in FY25 from USD 37.4 billion in FY20. Since FY20, they have raised USD 15.8 billion, underscoring strong investor confidence, according to Knight Frank India.

 

The outlook is further supported by policy momentum. With the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) achieving 95 per cent of its Rs 6-trillion FY21–25 target and NMP 2.0 aiming for Rs 10 trillion by 2030, the InvIT market is projected to expand to USD 258 billion by 2030, driven by sovereign wealth funds, private credit, pension funds, and rising retail participation.

 

The IPO will open on 7 October 2025 and close on 9 October 2025. The price band has been set at Rs 98–100 per unit. At the top of the band, the InvIT is valued at Rs 2,174 crore.