Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) acted as legal counsel for Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (“APSEZ“), through its step-down subsidiary, Adani Harbour International DMCC (“TAHID“) has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 80% stake in Astro Offshore Group (“Astro“), in an all-cash deal for USD 185 million, implying an enterprise value of USD 235 million. The transaction is expected to be value accretive from the first year itself. Astro is a leading global Offshore Support Vehicle (“OSV“) operator in the Middle East, India, Far East Asia and Africa. Astro owns a fleet of 26 OSVs comprising of Anchor Handling Tugs (“AHTs”), flat top barges, Multipurpose Support Vessels (“MPSVs”) and workboats and provides vessel management and complementary services. Astro has an impressive roster of Tier-1 customers including NMDC, McDermott, COOEC, Larsen & Toubro and Saipem and is a key player in the offshore construction & fabrication and offshore transportation markets.
The deal involved acquisition of various assets and subsidiaries of the group spread across multiple jurisdictions and hence involved complex structuring and indirect shareholding changes.
This deal aligns with the APSEZ’s plan to become one of the world’s largest marine operators. Astro will enhance APSEZ’s global marine portfolio and add new Tier-1 customers to the roster.
The M&A team of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised on the matter. The transaction team was led by Paridhi Adani, Partner (Head – Ahmedabad); Surya Sreenivasan, Partner; & Saurabh Sharma, Partner; with support from Utkarsh Mankad, Senior Associate Designate.
Other parties and advisors to the transaction included Watson Farley & Williams, acted as offshore counsel for the seller. The transaction was signed on 30thth August, 2024.
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About Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (cam) is India’s leading law firm with a global reputation of being trusted advisers to its clients. The Firm advises a large and diverse set of clients, including domestic and foreign commercial enterprises, financial institutions, private equity and venture capital funds, start-ups, government and regulatory bodies. The Firm generalists, specialists and senior ex-regulators expertly guide clients across a spectrum of transactions, sectors and regulations. The Firm is one of the largest full-service law firm in India and offices in key business centers at Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, GIFT City, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
The Firm received “National Law Firm of the Year: India” at the IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards for the second consecutive years in 2023 and 2022 and “Innovation in Advancing Markets” award at the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia Pacific 2022 Awards. The Firm had won “India Deal Firm of the Year” at the ALB India Awards and “Firm of the Year” at the IFLR1000 India Awards in 2022.
