VINCI Highways, a subsidiary of France’s VINCI Concessions, signed an agreement with Sydney, Australia-based Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund, to acquire the Safeway Concessions portfolio in India. This portfolio comprises nine toll highway concessions in India’s States of Andhra Pradesh, in south-east India, and Gujarat, in the west of the country.
These nine concessions total 435 miles of highway sections located on key axes of the national network, linking important industrial, agricultural and logistics areas: the sections in the State of Andhra Pradesh are located on the National Highway -16 corridor, part of the “Golden Quadrilateral” linking Kolkata to Chennai, one of the country’s main transport routes. Gujarat’s assets serve one of India’s most industrialized States.
The Golden Quadrilateral (map not to scale)
These highways are operated under TOT (Toll Operate Transfer) contracts with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), with contractual maturities ranging from 2048 to 2058. The concessionaire is remunerated through toll revenues generated by traffic.
The acquisition of a highway portfolio of this size and quality is a rare opportunity in a fast-growing market. It is perfectly in line with VINCI’s long-term investment strategy in mobility infrastructure.
At this stage, VINCI Highways has identified optimization opportunities across the portfolio both financially and operationally (operational processes, road safety, environmental performance). Further opportunities are expected in toll digitalization as India transitions to a free-flow system. In this regard, VINCI Highways has recognized expertise in the country through its subsidiary ViaPlus, which employs nearly 400 people in Hyderabad.
The transaction values Safeway Concessions based on an Enterprise Value of approximately 150 billion Indian rupees, ($1,591,000,000) at a multiple of around 15x Ebitda. The final amount of the transaction and the amount of the equity investment will be determined after usual adjustments at the closing date and finalization of the financial structuring of the transaction.
The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant Indian authorities and financial closing is expected by the end of 2026.
