It has been disclosed by these individuals that a majority of Adani’s present lenders, including the leading banks such as Standard Chartered, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank, are likely to partake in this round of refinancing.
In addition, the conglomerate has initiated negotiations with two Taiwanese banks and a Malaysian bank, among others, in order to broaden the consortium of lenders for syndicating the aforementioned loan. Such a syndication is expected to involve an extension of the payment tenure by three years.
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In a rather intriguing development, the Adani Group appears to be engaged in discussions to enlist the participation of at least five fresh international banks for the purpose of refinancing loans amounting to a substantial $3.8 billion. These loans were acquired for the notable acquisitions of ACC Limited and Ambuja Cement during the previous year, as informed by individuals familiar with the ongoing deliberations.
It has been disclosed by these individuals that a majority of Adani’s present lenders, including the leading banks such as Standard Chartered, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank, are likely to partake in this round of refinancing. In addition, the conglomerate has initiated negotiations with two Taiwanese banks and a Malaysian bank, among others, in order to broaden the consortium of lenders for syndicating the aforementioned loan. Such a syndication is expected to involve an extension of the payment tenure by three years.
One source commented, “The meetings with lenders are currently underway, and the group has set its sights on securing a loan agreement with the consortium by mid-July.” This move is being undertaken by the group to mitigate the risk of concentration faced by the existing lenders, who are reportedly amenable to revising the loan terms but have requested the inclusion of more lenders in the consortium. A second source familiar with the discussions remarked, “By introducing new lenders, the group’s creditworthiness perception will be bolstered, particularly when the group seeks to access overseas bond markets later this year.” The initial repayment installment for the aforementioned loans is slated for February 2024.
To provide some context, it was reported by the media on March 28 that the Adani Group was seeking to renegotiate the terms of outstanding loans, totaling approximately $4 billion, procured in August of the previous year for the acquisition of its cement assets from the Holcim group based in Switzerland. Furthermore, it was revealed that the group intends to extend the tenure of its $3 billion bridge loan from the existing 18 months to a more extended duration of five years.
In parallel, the conglomerate is actively pursuing the conversion of another tranche of $1 billion mezzanine loan, which currently possesses a maturity period of 24 months, into senior secured debt with a repayment schedule spanning up to five years. While buyers of Indian corporate loans have been present in the secondary loan market for an extended period, Taiwanese banks have noticeably augmented their involvement in primary deals as well. An illustrative example is the recent achievement of Reliance Industries and Reliance Jio Infocomm, who successfully secured $2 billion from approximately 55 lenders in April, with more than a dozen of them being Taiwanese banks.
