Adani Ports buys 80% stake of Astro Offshore for $185 million

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone has acquired an 80 per cent stake in offshore support vessels operator, Astro Offshore in an all-cash deal for $185 million, giving a boost to its marine portfolio which will increase to 142.

The transaction, done at an enterprise value of $235 million, is expected to be value accretive from the first year itself, the company said in a statement.

The existing promoters of Astro will continue to hold the remaining 20 per cent stake.

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Set up in 2009, Astro has a fleet of 26 OSVs operating in the Middle East, India, Far East Asia and Africa. Its customers include NMDC, McDermott, COOEC, Larsen & Toubro and Saipem.

“Astro’s acquisition is part of our roadmap to becoming one of the world’s largest marine operators,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director & CEO, APSEZ.

“The acquisition will also give us access to an impressive roster of Tier-1 customers while further consolidating our footprint across the Arabian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and Far East Asia,” he said, adding that they would be scaling up the platform further.  

Astro’s OSV portfolio consists of anchor handling tugs, flat top barges, multipurpose support vessels and workboats while also providing vessel management and complementary services. In the year ending April 30, 2024, it posted $95 million revenue and $41 million EBITDA.

It is a key player in the offshore construction, fabrication and transportation markets. It has deep experience in supporting the construction and maintenance of offshore platforms, oil & gas fields and subsea facilities, while its vessels also support multiple operations for leading international dredging companies, including large offshore construction and land reclamation projects.

It has entered into medium to long-term contracts with customers, which allows it to maintain high fleet utilization and benefit from increasing charter rates, driven by limited supply of OSV fleet globally.

“This partnership with APSEZ represents a critical inflection point for us,” said Mark Humphreys, Managing Director, Astro Offshore. “Together, we can accelerate growth to add further scale and diversity to our fleet mix, expand our geographical footprint and deliver more end-to-end solutions to our customers.”

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