Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (NSEI:ADANIPORTS) is looking to buy Karaikal port in Puducherry at a valuation of INR 15 billion-INR 20 billion but multiple sources said that the deal is “not easy” to consummate given the ownership structure and the debt. MARG Limited (BSE:530543), the promoter of the port, holds 45% stake in Karaikal Port Private Limited. “The discussion is now on how they are going to share the enterprise value of the deal between the equity and debt holders,” said a person familiar with the talks.

APSEZ, he said, has two options to work out a deal. First, it can directly deal with Edelweiss ARC for the debt portion and pay off the equity holders. The second option is for the debt holders to take the port company to a bankruptcy court which will allow the buyer to write off the equity and pay only the financial creditors.

B Venkataramanan, Chief Financial Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Karaikal Port, did not respond to calls made to his mobile seeking comment. APSEZ did not respond to a request for comment.