Cabinet clears Rs 15K crore FDI in Watsa firm

Chennai: The Cabinet has approved an FDI proposal of up to Rs 15,000 crore in Anchorage Infrastructure Investment Holding ahead of its proposed initial public offering.

Anchorage, owned by investor Prem Watsa’s Fairfax India Financial Holdings, invests in infrastructure, construction and airports.

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs approved the FDI proposal, which also involves transfer of shares of Bangalore International Airport Limited to Anchorage and investment of Rs 950 crore in Anchorage by 2726247 Ontario Inc., which is part of the largest Canadian pension fund, OMERS.

Anchorage was set up in 2019 as a wholly owned unit of Fairfax owned by Indian born Canadian businessman V. Prem Watsa to act as a flagship investment vehicle for airports and other infrastructure investments in India.

The government believes the investment will give a boost to the National Monetisation Pipeline as it will help fund leasing out of state-owned infrastructure assets, like roads, railways, airports, sports stadiums, power transmission lines and gas pipelines to private operators.