Suzlon raises $281mn to repay bondholders: IFR

The company has been under pressure for the last few years as global turbine sales slowed and its huge borrowings for expansion started to hurt.

It signed on Monday a 18-month loan facility with 11 lenders, including ICICI Bank , State Bank of India , Bank of Baroda , Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank , IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, said on Wednesday.

The all-in cost of the dollar loan is likely to be 325-350 basis points over Libor, IFR said. Suzlon declined comment.

Last month, the wind turbine maker said it was in talks with banks to raise USD 300 million to repay bondholders who had agreed to extend the deadline by 45 days to July 27.

The delay in raising funds for repayment had worried investors, causing an erosion of more than a fifth of Suzlon's market value in the last three months.

Suzlon's foreign currency bonds maturing this year have conversion prices of Rs 76.68 and Rs 97.26 per share, well above its current share price, making them unattractive for bondholders to convert into shares.

Suzlon has to repay another USD 209 million of foreign bonds in October.

Last month, Suzlon said it would sell stake in its China manufacturing unit for USD 60 million. The company aims to raise up to USD 200 million by selling some 'non-critical' assets in the current fiscal year.

Shares of Suzlon, which has a market capitalisation of about USD 560 million, were trading 2% lower at Rs 17.20 at 0934 GMT in a Mumbai market that was 0.41% lower.