Montecarlo explores sale of nine road assets in $360 million deal

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Ahmedabad-based Montecarlo Ltd, an engineering procurement and construction company, is exploring the sale of nine road assets in a deal expected to have an enterprise value of around $360 million (about ₹3,025 crore), said two people aware of the development. These nine road assets, or projects, fall under the so-called hybrid annuity model, which is considered attractive due to its risk-mitigation qualities.

Even so, Montecarlo’s decision to sell its entire stakes in the nine road assets comes amid multiple project delays and a significant inventory buildup in the road sector, with several deals in play. A recent case in point is Cube Highways emerging as the front runner to acquire the road assets of Athaang Infrastructure at an equity value of about ₹4,000 crore, as reported by Mint. Cube Highways is one of India’s largest private operators of toll roads.

Athaang Infrastructure is incubated by the government-backed quasi-sovereign National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. Montecarlo has operations in the highway, irrigation and water, mining, energy infrastructure, and building sectors. “The Montecarlo transaction to sell nine HAM assets is ongoing," said one of the two people cited above, requesting anonymity.

Queries emailed to a Montecarlo spokesperson on Monday evening remained unanswered. Also read | Mint Primer: Why building of highways in India is slowing down Experts say HAM projects are attractive from a risk-mitigation perspective. Under the HAM model, a concessionaire is compensated by fixed annuity payments during the construction, operation, and maintenance phases.