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National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) set up by NHAI, has concluded the fourth round of fund-raising at an Enterprise Value of about Rs 18,380 crore, making it the largest monetisation transaction in the Indian roads sector history. With the completion of this round, the total realised value across the four rounds stands at over Rs 46,000 crore.
In this round, NHIT raised approximately Rs 8,340 crore in unit capital from a mix of domestic and international investors and Rs 10,040 crore in debt from domestic lenders. These funds will be utilised to acquire several National Highway stretches, including Anakapalle – Narsannapeta, Gundugolanu – Kovvuru, and Chittoor – Mallavaram stretches in Andhra Pradesh, Bareilly – Sitapur and Muzaffarnagar – Haridwar stretches in Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand, Gandhidham – Mundra stretch in Gujarat, and Raipur – Bilaspur stretch in Chhattisgarh. The total concession value of these acquisitions amounts to Rs 17,738 crore, including a premium of Rs 97 crore. The investors subscribed to the units through a book-building process at a cut-off price of Rs 133.50 per unit, which reflects a premium over the Dec 31, 2024 NAV of Rs 131.94 per unit.
The issue attracted strong demand from both existing and new investors. Several domestic pension/provident funds, viz. EPFO, L&T PF, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Karamchari PF, Indian Oil Corporation PF; insurance companies including Axis Max Life Insurance; banks/financial institutions including NaBFID, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank; and mutual/ investment funds like Nippon India, Baroda BNP Paribas, Nuvama and White Oak Capital participated in the issue. In addition, NHIT’s existing foreign investors, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, participated in the book building to their maximum limit.
A significant development in this round is the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscription of Rs 2,035 crore, marking EPFO's first-ever investment in an InvIT. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also subscribed to approximately 15% of the units at the same price.
With the completion of this round, NHIT will hold a diversified portfolio of 26 operating toll roads (41 toll plazas) with an aggregate length of 2,345 km spread across 12 states with concession periods ranging between 20 to 30 years.
