GVK refutes Rahul Gandhi's claims, says there was no pressure to sell Mumbai airport

New Delhi, Feb 7 (IANS) G.V. Sanjay Reddy, Vice Chairman of the GVK conglomerate, said on Tuesday that there was absolutely no pressure from the Adani group or anyone else to sell Mumbai airport.

His statement came after after Rahul Gandhi's comment in the Parliament that the Narendra Modi-led government had arm-twisted GVK and hijacked Mumbai airport from the conglomerate and handed it to the Adani group.

Reddy also denied any pressure from government agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In July 2021, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd took over Mumbai airport from GVK.

"Let me explain the background to this transaction. You know, maybe a year before that (sale) itself, we were looking at fundraising because in our airport holding company, we had raised debt nearly 10 years ago when we acquired Bengaluru airport and that debt was becoming due. So we were talking to investors and we had tied up with three investors," Reddy told a news channel.

"They together agreed to invest in this company, which will help us prepay the debt. However, they had many conditions like any international investor would have and then we were hit by Covid. For three months, the airport business was shut and we had zero revenue. It put more financial pressure on us, and so we were trying to work with them to complete the transaction quickly. But it was not happening," said Reddy.

"So around the same time, Gautam (Adani) bhai approached me and said that he has a lot of interest in Mumbai airport and whether we are willing to do a transaction with him at the same terms and conditions - the only difference being that he said he will ensure that he will conclude the entire transaction in one month, which was very important for us," Reddy told the news channel.

"As far as I am concerned, we had done this deal with Gautam Adani because of the fact that it was the need of the company. We had to repay the lenders and there was no pressure from anybody else at all. As far as other aspects of what is being said in the Parliament, I would not like to comment as I would not like to get into the politics of it," he said.

"See, I know Gautam bhai for some time, and the transaction was very smooth because one thing I find with him is that he deals directly - he does not bring anybody with him. It was him and me, just the two of us. It took us about a week to be able to close everything. It was very simple, very straightforward," Reddy told the news channel.

"We did not have a lot of conditions, the time frame was very specific so that we could conclude it quickly and take care of the lenders, which was the top priority. And he also gave comfort to the lenders by saying that he will do this fast so they need not worry. So my dealing with him has been excellent, no issues at all. Whatever was committed, whatever was the understanding, we kept it up, we concluded," Reddy told the news channel.