Aeroports de Paris to Buy 49% of India’s GMR Airports for About $1.5 Billion
GMR has seven airports in India, the Philippines and Greece, including Delhi International Airport.
(Bloomberg) -- Aeroports de Paris agreed to buy a 49% stake in India’s GMR Airports for 107.8 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) to expand in fast-growing Asian markets.
The purchase will happen in two steps, starting with a 24.99% stake in coming days, ADP said Thursday. The second step, for 24.01%, will require approval from regulators including the Reserve Bank of India, and is set to be concluded in coming months.
ADP said the deal conforms with its strategy of buying airport clusters in regions of rapid growth. GMR has seven airports in India, the Philippines and Greece, including Delhi International Airport. Air traffic in India is seen climbing 6.5% a year on average between 2018 and 2038, according to ADP.
The airport operator will consolidate the GMR stake under the equity accounting method, and confirmed its dividend payout of at least 60% of net earnings attributable to the group for 2019 and 2020. ADP sees a limited impact on earnings per share for the next five years, but expects the purchase will become “strongly accretive” after 2025.
After the transaction in completed, GMR Infrastructure Ltd. will keep a 51% stake and retain control of GMR Airports.
To contact the reporter on this story: Frank Connelly in Paris at fconnelly@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Rudy Ruitenberg
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