COUNTRY REPORT INDIAprevious 12 months.
Citigroup, Edelweiss, ICICI Securities
and Spark Capital are the joint global
coordinators and bookrunners with HDFC
Bank.
› AZURE POWER LAUNCHES FOLLOW-ON
AZURE POWER GLOBAL has launched a US$185m
follow-on offer of primary shares on NYSE,
according to a term-sheet.
There is a greenshoe option of up to
US$15m.
Existing shareholders Caisse de Depot
et Placement du Quebec, International
Finance Corp and IFC AMC have indicated
interest to buy shares for up to US$115m.
The offer will be priced on October
- The shares closed last Thursday at
US$15.30.
Barclays, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Societe
Generale are the bookrunners.
The solar power company sold a US$61m
IPO in 2016 at US$18 per share.
Azure operates power plants with a total
capacity of 1,011 MW.
› SAMHI SEEKS BANKS FOR RS20BN IPO
Hotel owner Samhi is seeking banks to
manage a potential IPO of Rs10bn–Rs20bn,
people with knowledge of the transaction
said.
Samhi owns 29 hotels in 14 Indian
cities that operate under brands such as
Courtyard by Marriott, Sheraton, Hyatt
Regency and Holiday Inn Express.
The company was founded by Ashish
Jakhanwala and Manav Thadani. Its other
shareholders include Equity International,
GTI Capital, International Finance Corp and
Goldman Sachs.
Samhi could not immediately be reached
to comment.› BNP PARIBAS TO SELL SBI LIFE STAKEBNP Paribas Cardif said it plans to sell
a stake in India’s SBI LIFE INSURANCE in
the coming quarters to comply with a
minimum 25% free float requirement.
“No firm decision has been made
regarding the size, timing or nature of such
a reduction in stake,” BNP Paribas said.
State Bank of India owns 62.10% of the
insurer and BNP Paribas 22%. The public
shareholding is currently at 15.90%.
A 9.1% stake sale at current prices
would total Rs61bn, though it is likely
that the shares will be sold in a staggered
manner.
The shares are likely to be sold on localstock exchanges through an offer for sale
mechanism. SBI Life Insurance went public
last year through a Rs84bn IPO at Rs700 a
share. Under Indian stock exchange rules, a
company is given three years from the date
of its listing to meet the 25% free float rule.
The insurer’s shares are down 3.8% from
the IPO price.
BNP Paribas, Citigroup and Kotak have been
hired as advisers.› SHRIRAM PROPERTIES HIRES THREE BANKSReal estate developer SHRIRAM PROPERTIES
has hired Axis, Edelweiss and Nomura to
manage a Rs10bn–Rs15bn IPO planned for
next year, people with knowledge of the
transaction said.
The IPO is likely to be a combination of
primary and secondary shares.
The company is part of the Shriram
Group, which has interests in the financial
services business.
It develops residential and commercial
projects mostly in South India and has
a portfolio of 20 million square feet of
built-up space.
Other real estate firms that have
also filed for domestic IPOs are Lodha
Developers (US$700m–$1bn) and Puranik
Builders (Rs10bn). However, both of themTata Steel in talks for jumbo bridge takeout
Loans Steel giant seeks Rs210bn long-tenor loanTATA STEEL is in discussions with banks
for a long-term loan of up to Rs210bn
(US$2.89bn) to take out a bridge loan
it raised earlier in the year to acquire a
controlling stake in another steelmaker.
Several banks are likely to be involved in
the loan, which is expected to carry a tenor of
around 12 years.
Pricing will depend on how many lenders
Tata Steel wants in the loan, given the large
size.
In May, the steel giant raised Rs165bn in
debt for its acquisition of a 72.65% stake in
Bhushan Steel under the country’s new rules
for insolvency proceedings.
Tata Steel’s wholly owned subsidiary
Bamnipal Steel (BNPL) completed the
acquisition in line with the approved
resolution plan under the Corporate
Insolvency Resolution Process of the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
The Rs165bn borrowing comprised a
Rs115bn nine-month bridge facility and a
Rs50bn three-month commercial paper
issued via BNPL.The bridge loan pays an all-in of 8.80%
with the interest margin based on the
marginal cost of fund-based lending rate of
the individual banks. MCLR is a domestic rate
used for lending in India.
DBS Bank, HDFC Bank, Housing
Development Finance Corp, IndusInd Bank,
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Standard Chartered,
Tata Capital and Yes Bank were the banks in
the bridge, which was closed on a club basis.
The three-month CP priced at 8.5% and
was directly placed with a domestic mutual
fund without any arranger.
Tata Steel had said at the time it was
funding the acquisition through a bridge
loan of Rs165bn for BNPL and expected to
replace it with debt at Bhushan Steel over
time. Settlement of amounts equivalent
to Rs352bn towards financial creditors of
Bhushan Steel was being undertaken as per
the resolution plan. Operational creditors
of Bhushan Steel will receive Rs12bn over a
period of 12 months as per their admitted
claims and as per the terms of the approved
resolution plan.Tata Steel is also in an intense bidding war
for another distressed steelmaker, Bhushan
Power & Steel, and has submitted a revised
bid in mid-August after having offered
Rs170bn earlier.
The revised bid followed the Indian
Supreme Court’s rejection of a plea
from Tata Steel to stay a directive from
the National Company Law Appellate
Tribunal, the bankruptcy court that is
overseeing insolvency proceedings against
a dozen major defaulters under the IBC.
Tata Steel had sought to prevent lenders
from accepting fresh bids for Bhushan
Power & Steel after it submitted the
Rs170bn offer.
Another large steelmaker, JSW Steel,
and London-based industrial and metals
company Liberty House Group are in the
fray for Bhushan Power & Steel, which owes
creditors Rs492.64bn.
If Tata Seel emerges successful in its bid
for Bhushan Power & Steel, it would need
more funds to finance that acquisition.
PRAKASH CHAKRAVARTI