India's Adani Ports to ink $185 mln Astro Offshore deal in branch-out bid (updated)

JSW Infrastructure

30/08/2024 11:36

(Updates with details of the deal, context throughout)
       BENGALURU, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Adani Ports and Special
Economic Zone  APSE.NS  said on Friday it will buy a majority
stake in an offshore support vessel operator for $185 million,
expanding its fleet and diversifying beyond port operations.
        Astro Offshore, in which Adani Ports will buy an 80%
stake, owns a fleet of 26 vessels including barges and
workboats, counting miner NMDC  NMDC.NS  and construction
bellwether Larsen and Toubro  LART.NS  as its customers. 
        "Astro will add... to our current fleet of 142 tugs and
dredgers... (and) the acquisition will also give us access to an
impressive roster of tier-1 customers," Adani Ports CEO Ashwani
Gupta said in a statement. 
  
        The deal comes as India's largest private port operator
aims to grow its presence beyond its mainstay port operations to
maintain its sector lead against smaller rivals JSW
Infrastructure  JSWN.NS  and Gujarat Pipavav  GPPL.NS . 
    The acquisition is expected to close within a month with no
requirement of regulatory approvals, Adani Ports added. 
       
  

 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by
Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))