According to people familiar with the situation, a group of banks that have been in discussions to lend about $250 million each toward a syndicated loan of about $3.5 billion to refinance debt that the Adani Group took out to fund its acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd. have received internal approval for the deal.
The three banks are Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, and Standard Chartered Plc, the people said while requesting anonymity since the conversation was private.
They are a part of a wider consortium negotiating a syndicated loan for the conglomerate owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. According to people familiar with the situation, Bloomberg reported last month that some institutions were in discussions to lend $400 million each in what may end up being one of the biggest loan deals in Asia this year.
On the state of the group of banks, there was no fresh information provided.
The potential agreement provides more proof that the organisation, whose commercial interests range from ports to renewable energy, is putting an end to the charges of wrongdoing brought earlier this year by US short seller Hindenburg Research.
The claims led to a selloff in the stocks and bonds of group companies, which Adani executives have vehemently refuted. According to Bloomberg in February, discussions with international banks over debt refinancing stopped because some banks objected.
When contacted by Bloomberg on Tuesday, representatives from Barclays, Deutsche, and Standard Chartered all declined to comment. Adani Group’s spokesman did not immediately respond with any comments.
As the conglomerate looked to expand outside of its core business of owning ports, power plants, and coal mines and into sectors including data centres, airports, digital services, retail, and media, Adani purchased the India assets of Switzerland’s Holcim Ltd. in 2022.
The terms have not yet been agreed upon and could potentially alter.
Prior to the allegations made by a short-seller damaging the Indian group’s shares in January, Bloomberg News claimed that TotalEnergies was in discussions to invest in Adani Green Energy renewable energy projects.
According to the report, which cited a source, the French oil firm may invest approximately $700 million in the projects as part of an effort to increase the scope of its sustainable energy portfolio.
Adani Group was accused by Hindenburg Research of engaging in dishonest business practices and using tax havens in January, which caused the value of the company’s stock to drop by roughly $150 billion.
