3 days ago

Adani Airport Holdings to raise $1 billion in lieu of 5.5% stake

Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL) has entered into binding agreements to raise about $1 billion (₹9,825 crore) in primary equity capital from a consortium of domestic and global investors, valuing the firm at a pre-money equity valuation of about $18 billion.

The capital injection is from a high-profile consortium comprising Alpha Wave Global, Premji Invest, Temasek, and funds managed by BlackRock. Upon completion of the deal across three tranches, the investor group will collectively hold an approximate 5.54 per cent stake in the airport operator, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This partnership marks an important milestone in building out the Adani Airports platform, and we are privileged to have such marquee, long-term investors alongside us on this journey,” said Jeet Adani, Non-Executive Director at AAHL.

“India’s aviation sector is one of the most powerful multipliers of the country’s GDP growth. Every expansion in air connectivity catalyses trade, tourism, employment and regional development well beyond the airport gate,” he added.

AAHL, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), is a private airport operator, managing eight airports across India and serving over 23 per cent of India’s total passenger traffic.

The transaction is one of the largest primary equity investments by financial institutions within India’s airport infrastructure sector and provides a key external institutional valuation.

AAHL said the final tranche of the investment sequence is scheduled for completion by July 2027 under the executed Share Subscription Agreement and Shareholders’ Agreement.

The proceeds will be deployed across three core growth pillars: modernising and expanding airport infrastructure across its portfolio, accelerating the development of integrated ‘Adani Airport City’ real estate projects, and scaling up non-aeronautical and ground handling operations.

Under the initial phase of its city-side real estate development, AAHL plans to construct around 22 million square feet of mixed-use space. The overall capacity expansions aim to scale the platform’s infrastructure to handle about 200 million passengers annually, alongside enhancing commercial monetisation and passenger experience.

The fund raise follows a ₹15,000 crore ($1.8 billion) Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) by AEL in July 2026, which was India’s largest QIP by a non-financial corporate entity.

Arun Bansal, Chief Executive Officer of AAHL, stated that the ambition remains to scale AAHL into the world’s largest airports platform, bolstered by expanding consumer spending power and city-side economic development in major Indian urban centres.

Advisors to the transaction included legal firms Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, JSA Advocates and Solicitors, and TT&A Advocates and Solicitors, along with financial advisors Jefferies India Private Limited, SBI Capital Markets Limited, and Ernst & Young LLP.