India, Sept. 9 -- Billionaire Gautam Adani's airport business is set to rank among the world's most valuable airport operators after raising about USD 1 billion in fresh equity from global and domestic investors, including Temasek, BlackRock-managed funds, Alpha Wave Global and Premji Invest.

The transaction values Adani Airports Holdings at about USD 18 billion before the investment. Following the fundraise, its implied post-money equity value will be around USD 19 billion, placing the Indian airport operator at about third globally among major listed and recently valued airport operators, behind Spain's Aena and Airports of Thailand, according to market research analysts.

The comparison, however, is not strictly like-for-like as Aena ...