As reported by two persons familiar with the matter, KKR's roads platform Highways Infrastructure Trust is in talks to acquire a portfolio of 12 road projects from Agra-based construction firm PNC Infratech for an enterprise value of over 9,000 crore (about $1.1 billion). If the deal goes through, it will be the largest acquisition of road projects in India by a US-based private equity (PE) group.
The portfolio under consideration for sale includes 11 hybrid annuity model (HAM) roads and one build-operate-transfer (BOT) road. These projects can be found in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. "For the PNC portfolio, there were four bidders." The corporation has proceeded with KKR, and the private equity group has recently begun due diligence on the properties. "The portfolio has an enterprise value of around 9,000 crore, with debt of around 6,900 crore," claimed one of the unnamed sources.
Seven of the twelve road projects are now active, with the remainder likely to be operational over the next three to four months, according to the source, who added, "This is one of the largest portfolios of roads on sale in the market right now."
In 2021, KKR began investing in Indian roads by acquiring Global Infrastructure Partners' whole stake in roadway Concessions One (HC1) roadway assets totaling 487 kilometres. Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana make up the HC1 road portfolio. The portfolio included five toll roads and two annuity highways.