Adani Ports becomes India’s largest third-party liquid tank storage player

 Synopsis

• Indian Oiltanking Ltd (IOTL) is one of India’s largest third-party liquid tank storage players
• APSEZ has acquired 49.38% stake in IOTL and an additional 10% stake in one of its subsidiaries (IOT Utkal)
• Acquisition is well aligned with APSEZ’s strategy of becoming the Largest Transport Utility
• IOTL is on an expansion spree and has recently signed a BOOT contract for 0.6 Mn KL of crude storage tank capacity
• With ~80% of IOTL’s capacity under ‘Take-or-Pay’ contract, and at an acquisition price point of Rs 1,050 Cr, the deal is value accretive for APSEZ shareholders

 Ahmedabad, 9 November 2022: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), the largest transport utility in India, has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Oiltanking India GmbH’s 49.38% equity stake in Indian Oiltanking Ltd (IOTL), which is one of India’s largest developer and operator of liquid storage facilities. This agreement also includes acquisition of an additional 10% equity stake in IOT Utkal Energy Services Ltd, a 71.57% subsidiary of IOTL.

Over the last 26 years, IOTL has built a network of six terminals across five states with a total capacity of 2.4 Mn KL (owned capacity of 0.5 Mn KL and BOOT capacity of 1.9 Mn KL) for storage of crude and finished petroleum products. The owned facilities include Navghar terminal in Maharashtra, Raipur terminal in Chhattisgarh and Goa terminal. The BOOT terminal with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is at Paradip (Odisha) and O&M contracts with IOCL are at JNPT (Maharashtra) and Dumad (Gujarat). The company also has a biogas plant of 15 TPD capacity in Namakkal (Tamil Nadu).

“With this acquisition, APSEZ’s oil storage capacity jumps 200% to 3.6 Mn KL, making it India’s largest third-party liquid storage company. This ties well with our ambition to become the largest transport utility globally,” said Mr Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of APSEZ. “This stake purchase is also well aligned with our strategy of diversifying the cargo mix with focus on products and services having higher realisation and margins. The deal will further strengthen our strategic partnership with IOCL, a key stakeholder and India’s largest refiner and customer of oil storage tanks.”

IOTL is on a growth spree given the increasing demand for oil products in the country. The company recently signed a 25-year BOOT contract with Numaligarh Refinery Ltd for the construction, operation, and maintenance of 0.6 Mn KL crude storage tanks at the Paradip Port. Besides, the company is also negotiating/bidding on various other large projects, both at existing facilities and new locations.

The majority of IOTL’s tank capacity is contracted by reputed PSUs and oil majors. With around 80% of IOTL’s capacity under ‘Take-or-Pay’ contract, there is a good visibility on the future cash flows of the company. In FY22, IOTL’s revenue and EBITDA were Rs 526 Cr and Rs 357 Cr respectively. The acquisition price of Rs 1,050 Cr implies an EV/EBITDA multiple of ~8x on FY22 numbers.

About Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), a part of the globally diversified Adani Group has evolved from a port company to an Integrated Transport Utility providing end-to-end solutions from its port gate to customer gate. It is the largest port developer and operator in India with 6 strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast (Mundra, Dahej, Tuna and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa and Dighi in Maharashtra) and 6 ports and terminals on the East coast of India (Dhamra in Odisha, Gangavaram, Visakhapatnam and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Kattupalli and Ennore in Chennai) representing 24% of the country’s total port capacity, thus providing capabilities to handle vast amounts of cargo from both coastal areas and the hinterland. The company is also developing two transshipment ports at Vizhinjam, Kerala and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Its ‘Ports to Logistics Platform’ comprising port facilities, integrated logistics capabilities including multimodal logistics parks, Grade A warehouses, and industrial economic zones, puts APSEZ in an advantageous position as India stands to benefit from an impending overhaul in global supply chains. The company’s vision is to be the largest ports and logistics platform in the world in the next decade. With a vision to turn carbon neutral by 2025, APSEZ was the first Indian port player and third in the world to sign up for the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) committing to emission reduction targets to control global warming at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. For more information, please visit www.adaniports.com

Oiltanking GmbH is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls, an agile, independent holding company in the energy & chemical sector. Through its portfolio, Oiltanking is one of the largest independent tank storage providers for gas, chemicals, and petroleum products worldwide. For more information on Oiltanking, please visit www.oiltanking.com.