Adani Airports to raise $1 billion from Temasek, BlackRock at $18 billion valuation

The money is new equity in the unlisted airport company, not a sale by the parent. Adani Enterprises owns the operator of eight Indian airports, including Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, outright today and will remain the controlling shareholder. The listed parent is the only public sleeve, so for fund holders Wednesday's print means little yet.

On September 6, Moneycontrol reported the fundraise was in its final leg seeking a valuation above $20 billion, with BlackRock then only in exploratory talks. That was a pre-deal report, not a company figure, and Adani Airport Holdings had declined to comment on the speculation. The binding agreements value the company at roughly $18 billion before the new cash is counted.

Investors will subscribe to new shares in three tranches. After all three, Temasek, BlackRock-managed funds, Premji Invest and Alpha Wave Global are expected to hold about 5.54%. The ₹98.25 billion of new cash stays in the airport company. Adani said the cash will expand and modernize the network and scale passenger-facing and other non-aeronautical businesses such as ground handling. It gave a first-phase figure of about 22 million square feet for mixed-use development around the airports and said the investments should support about 200 million passengers a year. The filing does not disclose a per-share price, individual commitments, a post-money valuation, or any earmark for debt reduction.

Adani Enterprises shares traded at ₹3,091.50, up 4.7%, as of 1:55 a.m. Eastern in Wednesday's Mumbai session. The Nifty 50 was down 0.48%. The iShares MSCI India ETF AINDA held Adani Enterprises at 0.56% of assets as of September 7; the Franklin FTSE India ETF AFLIN held it at 0.54% as of September 9. U.S.-listed India ETFs last traded on Tuesday, before the Mumbai filing. The last tranche is not due until July 2027, so the $18 billion valuation is a mark that will not be tested for the better part of a year.