PETALING JAYA: Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) proposes to sell its entire stake in the Indian operator of airports in Hyderabad and Karnataka, India, for US$100 million (RM478 million).
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia today, MAHB said it and wholly owned subsidiary MAHB (Mauritius) Pvt Ltd (MAMPL) have entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with GMR Airports Singapore Pvt Ltd for the disposal of the entire 41,580,000 equity shares of 10 rupees (57.5 sen) each, representing 11% of the issued and paid-up share capital of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL).
GHIAL manages the operations of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and the Bidar Airport in Karnataka.
Payment will be made in two parts – US$1.5 million within seven days from the signing date of the SPA into an escrow account; and the balance US$98.5 million will be paid on the completion date of the SPA, less any tax. The disposal is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.
MAHB said the sale provided an opportunity for it to unlock the value of its non-core assets and streamline its overseas investment portfolio.
“Since the opening of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on March 23, 2008, MAHB had only received US$6.41million of dividend from GHIAL,“ MAHB said.
Proceeds from the sale are intended to be used for capital expenditure, general corporate purposes and to defray the expenses in relation to the disposal.
The total cost of investment made by MAMPL and MAHB for the 11% stake in GHIAL was 415.8 million rupees (US$9.9 million). As of Dec 31, 2022, the carrying book value of the investment in GHIAL amounted to US$76 million.
