India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group has kicked off a planned ₹25,500 crore ($2.7 billion) refinancing with the sale of local-currency bonds, helping restore confidence among investors after months of uncertainty over the group’s ability to refinance looming debt maturities.
One of the group’s subsidiaries will issue about ₹15,000 crore worth of rupee-denominated bonds to a group of investors, including Farallon Capital Management, Davidson Kempner Capital and Cerberus Capital Management, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The funds will be used to refinance debt at unit Goswami Infratech Pvt.
Separately, the group raised $650 million through a three-year dollar bond on Friday at a yield of 14.5 per cent, other people said.
Deutsche Bank AG, the sole arranger for both tranches of the offering, may invest about $400 million, making it one of the largest investors, the people said.
The fundraising provides the infrastructure-to-real-estate conglomerate much-needed liquidity after it twice extended the maturity of debt owed by Goswami. It also eases concerns about its ability to refinance near-term debt after months of talks with creditors. Investors are also watching the group’s 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons Pvt., as delays in unlocking value from that holding has complicated its refinancing efforts.
