Welspun Enterprises surges 7% as Actis buys road assets for Rs 6,000 crore

NEW DELHI – Shares of Welspun Enterprises shot up 6.8 per cent in early trade on Friday as the infrastructure firm said it has executed definitive agreements with Actis Highway Infra to sell its portfolio of operating highway projects for an aggregate enterprise value of approximately Rs 6,000 crore

Welspun’s scrip jumped to a high of Rs 107 as against Rs 100.15 at the previous close on the BSE.

The UK-based global investor Actis has acquired a portfolio of six operating highway toll road projects in India from Welspun Enterprises Limited (WEL), part of the Welspun Group, for an aggregate Enterprise Value of $775 mn (Rs. 6,000 crore).

The portfolio benefits from a stable mix of annuity and toll cash flows, with the projects located strategically across India including in the most prominent North-South highway corridor, said an Actis statement.

This will be the first road investment in India from Actis’ Long Life Infrastructure Fund (ALLIF), which seeks to invest in stabilised operating assets, within multiple infrastructure sectors that deliver a strong cash yield for investors, Actis said.

Aligning with this objective, five of the six toll roads have a Hybrid Annuity concession, whereby the concessionaire gets a fixed pay-out to ensure road availability. The concessions for the five projects are awarded by National Highways Authority of India and have received AAA local credit rating, it said.

“This is a strong, first of its kind, investment for ALLIF, which fully aligns with the fund’s core objective - to invest globally in infrastructure assets that provide consistent yield for our investors,” said Adrian Mucalov, Partner, Head of Long Life Infrastructure at Actis.

Actis’ Long Life Infrastructure's recent investments include the purchase of a 50 per cent stake in Dubai headquartered Emirates District Cooling Company (EMICOOL), and the acquisition of Ulug Energy in Turkey.

In April, Actis had sold its renewable energy platform Spring Energy to Shell Overseas Investment BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell plc, for $1.55 billion (Rs 11,900 crore).