Hyderabad-based civil engineering construction company SEW Infrastructure Ltd and Navayuga Engineering Co Ltd have divested their controlling stake in Khalghat road project in Madhya Pradesh to Uniquest Infra Ventures Pvt Ltd, a statement said.
The two companies have inked a pact with Uniquest Infra to sell the stake in SEW Navayuga Barwani Tollways Pvt Ltd—a special purpose vehicle of SEW Infrastructure (backed by Citi Venture Capital and NYLIM Jacob Ballas) and Navayuga Engineering (backed by 3i Group)—subject to customary closing conditions.
Uniquest Infra Ventures is Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad's joint venture through subsidiary UEM with IDFC for acquiring infrastructure projects.
SEW Navayuga Barwani Tollways is operating the Khalaghat road project in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra border on a section of NH-3 from km 84.70 to km 167.50 in Madhya Pradesh, under a concession agreement signed with the National Highways Authority of India. The Rs 790 crore project started commercial operations in April 2011.
"The proceeds of the divestment would assist in improving the liquidity and strengthen the overall financial position of the company,” S Anil Kumar, director, SEW Infrastructure Ltd, said in the statement.
Earlier, Uniquest had bought stake in Jetpur Somnath Tollways, which is implementing a 124-km BOT (build-operate-transfer) project on NH-8D connecting Jetpur and Somnath in Gujarat state. Uniquest is the single-largest shareholder of Jetpur Somnath Tollways.
Uniquest, which invests long-term capital in infrastructure projects that offer stable cash flow, is currently focusing on investments in the road and highways sector.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
