P&O India to clarify on Dubai Ports deal

Prior consent of central, state governments was must for any equity dilution in the company.

P&O Ports India has sought time till the end of the month to reply to a Gujarat Maritime Board notice on its recent takeover by Dubai Ports. P&O owns the Mundra International Container Terminal.

The board has also decided to ask Adani Port Ltd, the original owner of the Mundra Terminal, to clarify certain points, possibly with regard to the sale of the terminal to P&O some years ago.

Board Vice-Chairman & CEO HK Dash said, "We have received a communication from P&O. They have sought time till March 31 to file a detailed reply."

Dash said the board could invoke clauses in its Act as well as the Indian Port Act, if it found the P&O's final reply unsatisfactory. "We have not yet decided on any particular course of action. We are giving them some time and will wait," he added.

Sources added that a second letter, jointly signed by Dubai Port and P&O officials, has also been received by the board.

This missive has raised some contractual points and sought the board's views on them. Although the full details were not available, sources said the points raised in this missive pertained to the Adani-P&O deal.

The board, the regulatory agency for all seaports in Gujarat, has sent a show-cause notice to the management of P&O Ports India asking why its concession agreement for the Mundra Terminal should not be cancelled as it had not been informed about the takeover of the company by Dubai Ports International. Mundra Terminal, earlier owned by Adani Ports, is now fully owned by P&O, a UK-based container company.

As per the contract signed between Adani Port and the board, prior consent of the central and state governments for any equity dilution in the company as well as any transfer of assets and property is a must.