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Eredene Capital PLC, the AIM quoted investor in Indian infrastructure, has announced that its subsidiary, West Coast Port Limited, has sold its stake in Ocean Sparkle Limited (OSL), India’s leading port operations and marine services company, to Mauritius-based Infrastructure India Holdings Fund LLC (IIHF) for £8.2 million.
The Eredene Group held 6.8 per cent of Ocean Sparkle Limited (OSL), which it purchased in 2010 for £7.3 million, and the transaction represents a gross premium of 39 per cent over the investment cost in Rupee terms.
The sale is part of Eredene’s strategy of realising its investments in India and returning capital to its shareholders. An initial return to shareholders of £15.3m, equivalent to 3.4 pence per share, was made in August 2012 via a share buyback at 18 pence per share, and Eredene intends to make further returns to shareholders.
IIHF is an existing shareholder of OSL, which operates India’s largest fleet of harbour tugs with a presence in most of the leading ports in India.
Alastair King, founder and Chief Executive of Eredene commented that the sale provides a healthy return on Eredene’s original investment in OSL and it is also at a premium to the book value of the investment.
“This is an important milestone in the company’s strategy of making a phased realisation of its investments in India to maximise value and return capital to shareholders,” he said in a statement.
