Following recent news, Vedanta has postponed its planned dollar bond issuance, citing concerns that borrowing costs for Indian companies may rise after the recent indictment of Adani Group Chairperson Gautam Adani by a U.S. court. Reports from Reuters and Bloomberg on Thursday indicated that Vedanta’s decision closely follows Adani Green Energy Ltd.’s earlier withdrawal of its own planned dollar bond issuance.
Earlier, Adani Green Energy withdrew the $600 million planned issue.
Vedanta has opted to pursue its fundraising strategy via dollar bonds and is inclined to monitor the situation until the existing volatility stabilizes and borrowing expenses decrease, reported Reuters citing sources.
The company of billionaire Anil Aggarwal intended to secure funding through dollar-denominated bonds that would mature in three and a half years.
Citigroup, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank were the joint global coordinators and lead managers to the issue.
Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, his nephew Sagar Adani and six others were indicted by US prosecutors on Wednesday for bribing $250 million to Indian government officials. The bribes were offered to secure “lucrative solar energy supply contracts” from state electricity distribution companies.
“This indictment alleges schemes to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials, to lie to investors and banks to raise billions of dollars, and to obstruct justice,” read a press release by the US Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, which included a quotation from US Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa H. Miller.
“In light of these developments, our subsidiaries have presently decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offerings,” said a corporate filing of Adani Green Energy.
Shares of Vedanta were trading up 0.6% at Rs 445.50 as of 1310 IST. The stock rose as much as 1% to an intra-day high of Rs 447. The stock hit a 52- week high of Rs 523.65, on September 30, 2024.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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