- The company is currently in talks with Adani Enterprises, Cube Highways and Infrastructure as well as three Canadian pension funds for the sale of its roads portfolio.
- Proceeds from the sale would be helping the company set up a lithium-ion batteries manufacturing plant.
Essel Infraprojects Ltd (ESL), the infrastructure arm of renowned Indian conglomerate Essel Group, is reportedly in talks with a number of infrastructure developers as well as private equity companies for the sale of a portion of its roads portfolio.
Sources privy to the matter claim, the infrastructure firm has placed approximately six of its road projects on the block and is looking for a total enterprise value of INR 11,500 crores. The company intends to complete the sale of the projects by June.
According to a report by Deal Street Asia, the proceeds from the sale of its road portfolio would be helping the company in establishing a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant for electric vehicles.
The company had earlier announced that it would be investing more than INR 1,750 crores in the state of Uttar Pradesh to install electric vehicle charging stations and was also seeking to acquire lithium mines outside of India.
Essel Infraprojects is reportedly in talks with a number of different companies such as Adani Enterprises, Cube Highways and Infrastructure and three different Canadian pension funds Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), PSP Investments’ Roadis, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
A spokesperson representing Essel Group stated that the company is conducting discussions at the moment with all of the prospective buyers regarding the divestment of the company’s road portfolio.
A spokesperson from Adani Group stated that under its growth strategy, the company continues to evaluate a plethora of opportunities. The spokesperson further added that the company would be notifying its stakeholders, if & when, a concrete prospect emerges.
According to reports, Essel Infra currently owns 14 different road projects in its roads portfolio, with six projects being national highways and the rest being state highways.