GV Sanjay Reddy, Vice Chairman of GVK, has firmly denied Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's claims that the Modi government forced GVK to give up control of Mumbai airport to the Adani group.
"There was absolutely no pressure from the Adani group or anyone else to sell Mumbai airport," Mr. Reddy told NDTV today.
Adani Airport Holdings Ltd took over Mumbai airport from GVK in July 2021.
Mr. Reddy explained the background of this transaction. "About a year before the sale, we were looking to raise funds because we had debt from when we acquired Bengaluru airport almost 10 years ago, and that debt was due. We were in talks with investors and had agreements with three of them," Sanjay GV Reddy said.
They agreed to invest in our company, which would help us pay off the debt. However, like any international investors, they had many conditions. Then, Covid hit, and the airport business was shut down for three months, leading to zero revenue. This increased our financial pressure, and we tried to speed up the transaction, but it wasn't happening," explained Mr. Reddy, whose conglomerate has invested over $5 billion in various businesses over the past 20 years.