Adani airports to grow to 200 million passengers with new $1 billion investment

GAUTAM ADANI's flagship company, Adani Enterprises, announced Wednesday that its airport unit will raise about $1 billion from a group of investors including Temasek and BlackRock, marking a major step in the group's expansion across businesses ranging from airports to data centers and green hydrogen.

The deal values the airport operator, Adani Airport Holdings, at about $18 billion before the investment. Adani Enterprises will sell a stake of up to 5.54 per cent in the business while remaining its controlling shareholder.

Under the arrangement, Adani Airport Holdings will issue new shares to the investor consortium, bringing fresh capital into the company.

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Along with Temasek and BlackRock, the investor group also includes Alpha Wave Global and Premji Invest.

The new capital will go toward expanding and modernizing the company's airport network, developing airport-linked commercial infrastructure, and scaling related businesses such as ground handling and passenger services.

The investment is expected to lift the operator's capacity to about 200 million passengers a year.

A string of expansions in recent years has already made the Adani airport subsidiary India's largest operator by number of airports. It manages eight airports, including Mumbai International Airport, accounting for about 25 per cent of India's passenger traffic and 33 per cent of its air cargo volumes.

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India's other major aviation player, the GMR Group, remains the largest operator by number of passengers handled.

Shares of Adani Enterprises climbed 3 per cent to 3,043 rupees on Wednesday, marking a seventh straight session of gains.

The investment follows a Reuters report in July that the Adani group was considering launching a new airline, a move that could reshape competition in a market currently dominated by IndiGo and Air India.

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Temasek's involvement also comes at a time when the Singapore state investor's exposure to Indian carrier Air India has sparked debate in the city-state.

(With inputs from Reuters)