Ahmedabad, Aug 30 (IANS) Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Friday announced its acquisition of an 80 per cent stake in global offshore support vessel operator Astro Offshore for $185 million in an all-cash deal.

Astro will enhance Adani Ports’ global marine portfolio and help add new Tier-1 customers.

The transaction, implying an enterprise value of $235 million, is expected to be value accretive from the first year itself, said the flagship company of the Adani Group.

"Astro’s acquisition is part of our roadmap to becoming one of the world’s largest marine operators. Astro will add 26 OSVs to our current fleet of 142 tugs and dredgers, taking the total count to 168," said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-Time Director and 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 added.

Astro is a leading global OSV operator in the Middle East, India, Far-East Asia, and Africa. It owns a fleet of 26 OSVs comprising anchor handling tugs (AHTs), flat top barges, multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) and workboats and provides vessel management and complementary services.

During the year ending April 30, 2024, Astro posted $95 million revenue and $41 million EBITDA, and was net cash positive.

Mark Humphreys, Managing Director, Astro Offshore, said that over the past 15 years, "we have created an impressive company trajectory, driven by strategic investments in our OSV fleet and deep relationships with our customers".

"This partnership with APSEZ represents a critical inflection point for us. 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," he added.

Astro's vessels also support multiple operations for leading international dredging companies, including large offshore construction and land reclamation projects. There are no regulatory approvals required and the transaction is expected to close within a month, according to the company.

Adani Ports is the largest port developer and operator in India with seven strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast and eight ports and terminals on the east coast.