Shapoorji Pallonji sells entire stake in Jammu-Udhampur highway to NIIF

Contract for the project, which connects with Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, allowed the firm to collect a semi-annual sum for 20 years

Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group has sold its stake for an undisclosed amount in the Jammu-Udhampur Highway to the state-run National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) to service its bond market debt.

The group undertook the project through a unit called SP Jammu Udhampur Highway Limited in 2011, after getting the contract to build a 64.5-km highway on a build-operate-transfer (annuity) basis. The concession agreement allowed the firm to collect a pre-agreed semi-annual sum for the next 20 years.

"This transaction also results in an effective reduction of approx. Rs 1,850 crore of consolidated Group debt besides unlocking equity," said Jai Mavani, group executive director (corporate finance and M&A) at SP.

SP, in 2015, sought refinancing for the project by raising Rs 2610 crore from the bond market: one of the largest infra refinancing efforts of its kind then.

The Jammu-Udhampur highway, which connects with Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, was one of the first highway projects to raise significant US dollar external commercial borrowings during the construction phase, said a SP statement.

With the transaction, the company has divested its entire 74 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle.