NEW DELHI, March 28 (Reuters) - Airport operator GVK Power &
Infrastructure Ltd GVKP.NS has sold a 33 percent stake in
Bengaluru airport in southern India to Canada's Fairfax
Financial Holdings FFH.TO to reduce debt, the company said in
a statement on Monday.
Fairfax will pay 21.49 billion rupees ($322.75 million) for
the stake, GVK said in a statement to the stock exchange.
The deal, likely to be completed by mid-2016, will help GVK
reduce debt by 20 billion rupees and save up to 3 billion rupees
a year in interest costs, the company said.
"This is an important and successful milestone in
deleveraging our balance sheet, and all proceeds from this stake
sale shall be used to bring down our debt obligations to our
lender," GVK Reddy, company chairman and managing director,
said.
Shares in GVK, which also operates Mumbai airport, ended 6
percent higher. The Mumbai market .BSESN fell 1.46 percent.
Fairfax, headed by well-known contrarian investor Prem
Watsa, made billions by correctly calling the 2008 financial
crisis. In 2014, the Toronto-based company set up Fairfax India
to boost the firm's investment in the country.
Fairfax India went public in 2015 and raised more than $1
billion via its initial public offering.
($1 = 66.5850 Indian rupees)