Infrastructure India offloads holding in Madhya Pradesh toll road

AIM-traded fund Infrastructure India announced the sale of one of its large investments on Friday - a holding in Western MP Infrastructure & Toll Roads (WMP).

WMP operated a 78 mile toll road in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, with a 25 year concession from April 2008.

Infrastructure India invested in WMP in the same year through wholly-owned subsidiary Roads Infrastructure India, which holds a 26% interest in the asset totalling £12.5m. The remaining 74% interest in WMP is owned by Essel Infra Projects.

The company’s board said Roads Infrastructure India entered into a binding agreement on Thursday, where it agrees to the sale of its entire interest to an affiliate of Essel Infra for a cash consideration of INR 2.03bn (£21.6m).

It said the sale price represented a discount of 13% to the £25m value ascribed to the holding in Infrastructure India’s unaudited interim results to 30 September last year.

The transaction was expected to close late in the second quarter, with the net proceeds from the disposal providing the group with additional working capital.

“The board is pleased with the terms of the sale of IIP's minority interest in WMP, which has been achieved amidst difficult market conditions in the Indian road sector,” it said in a statement.

At the same time Infrastructure India issued an update on its largest portfolio asset Distribution Logistics Infrastructure (DLI).

DLI is 99.9% owned by Infrastructure India, and was described by the company as one of the largest private supply chain transportation and container infrastructure companies in India, with a large road and rail fleet.

The board said that, following revisions to government procedures for customs notifications, DLI had now received regulatory approval for its Nagpur terminal to commence export-import operations.

That would allow DLI to begin and ramp-up operations through its own customs bonded area at Nagpur, and the ability to operate the ‘integrated logistics park’ to its full potential.

Key infrastructure relating to export-import and domestic operations was also now complete at Palwal as well as Bangalore. Construction had begun for a railway siding at Bangalore after agreement in principle from Indian Railways.

“While market conditions in the industry continue to be soft, with tight margins in domestic rail transportation and no rebound in export-import volumes, the board continues to be optimistic in DLI's long term potential and the strength of its business plan,” it explained.