NHAI INvIT raises Rs 1,430 crore for funding acquisition of road projects

The National Highways Infra Trust has raised Rs 1,430 crore from domestic and international investors, through placement of its units, for part funding its acquisition of three road projects from NHAI

The National Highways Infra Trust (NHAI InvIT) has raised Rs 1,430 crore from domestic and international investors, through placement of its units, for part funding its acquisition of three road projects from NHAI, an official statement said.

NHAI InvIT is the infrastructure investment trust sponsored by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to support the government's National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP).

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a statement said the units have been subscribed by a gamut of institutional investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, State Bank of India, SBI Pension Fund, SBI Mutual Fund, IOCL Employee Provident Fund, L&T and Staff Provident Fund, among others.

According to the statement, NHAI subscribed to the units through preferential allotment to maintain its unitholding of at least 15 per cent.

The units were subscribed through a book build process at Rs 109 per unit, at a premium over floor price of Rs 107.12 per unit, it added.

Besides, as per the statement, NHAI InvIT has also filed its prospectus with SEBI for issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) to raise Rs 1,500 crore.

The NCDs would carry a coupon of 7.90 per cent payable semi-annually and would be available for subscription by both retail and institutional investors.

Last year, NHAI's first infrastructure investment trust raised more than Rs 5,000 crore.

At that time, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that more national highways will be added to the InvIT portfolio as the long-term revenue-generating assets.

NHAI has the largest share under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) as road assets worth Rs 1.60 lakh crore will be monetised over four years till FY25. NMP was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in August last year.