Canadian pension funds CPPIB, OTPP invest another $485 mn in NHAI InvIT
Summary
Other investors included the pension funds of Larsen & Toubro, Indian Oil Corporation and a Rajasthan governments electricity utility, as well as Axis Max Life Insurance, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and mutual funds like Nippon India, Baroda BNP Paribas, Nuvama and White Oak Capital. With the latest round, the two pension funds have together invested Rs 11,520 crore into NHIT. Both pension funds have made equal investments into the InvIT in this round, and their effective shareholding remains unchanged at 25% each.The latest funding round comes weeks after NHIT appointed Rakshit Jain, the former head of the Indian operations at Italian infrastructure group Mundys (earlier known as Atlantia) as its chief executive officer.CPPIB and OTPP said in separate statements that the new money will mainly be used to acquire 11 additional road concessions across north, central, and south India and to pay a concession fee to NHAI to be utilized for further development of road infrastructure in India.The InvIT is acquiring these road assets for Rs 17,738 crore, for which it has also separated raised Rs 10,040 crore in debt, according to a press release by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.The acquisition will expand NHITs portfolio from 15 to 26 operating toll roads, all of which have been acquired from NHAI. Following this, NHIT will own, operate, and maintain toll roads in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh, spanning a total length of over 2,300 kms with concession periods ranging between 20 to 30 years.The InvIT was set up by NHAI in 2021 to monetise its assets and raise more money to build more highways. These road projects had a combined length of 389 km and an enterprise value north of Rs 8,000 crore.