The majority stakeholder in the Mumbai International Airport, the GVK Group and the Adani Group are locked in a battle over the latter trying to gain 13.5% stakes in the outfit, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL). This is the stake currently with a South African firm Bidvest and it has entered into an agreement with the Adanis to sell it but the GVK Group is trying to block it. The matter has reached the Bombay High Court.
Meanwhile there is news that the GVK Group has been asked to furnish certain information by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). It is not clear if there is any connection between the two. There were definitely some reports earlier of a whistle-blower having tipped the MCA of some financial mishandlings at MIAL, which the GVK management denies.
For the record, MIAL is a joint venture between the GVK Group, Airports Authority of India and two South African companies, Bidvest and Airports Company of South Africa. GVK holds 50.5% equity in the JV giving it the majority rights.
Trouble began when Adani wanted to buy the 13.5% stake held by Bidvest and GVK tried to block it. Adani Group went ahead and signed a share purchase agreement which would have given the South African firm Rs 1,248 crore or Rs 77 a share. Once GVK tried stopping this, the matter went into arbitration and GVK was asked to pay up Bidinvest by September 30 to acquire the 13.5% stake. This date was further extended till October 31. But Adani has filed a suit in the Bombay High Court. The case is pending there for hearing and further orders.
GVK has reacted to the reports of the query from MCA but claims it is limited to MIAL and none of its other group ventures have been affected. It has called the rumours of the whistleblower as baseless.
Adani Group has recently managed to bag a contract to maintain half a dozen airports in the country. They may be keen to have a foot in the door in the country’s key airport Mumbai.