Ahmedabad, Feb 9 (PTI) Adani Enterprises(AE) is close to finalising a long-term project loan to the tune of around AUD 1.4 billion from a consortium of banks overseas to replace the nearly USD 2 billion bridge loan raised by it to acquire Abott Point terminal (APT) in Australia last year. "What we have done is known as asset level funding. Once the asset came into our fold we had to remove the bridge finance and now we are taking loans from banks in Australia," AE Chief Financial Officer Devang Desai told PTI here today. "We have tied up with local banks there (Australia) and the process is at documentation stage. The loan is around AUD 1.3 billion at the asset level and balance at the holding level," he explained. Adani Group may soon sign a deal and is in talks with top five banks of Australia including, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp, he said. The Ahmedabad-based diversified Group was provided one -year bridge to fund the acquisition of Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland State by Standard Chartered Bank and State Bank of India. "By doing so (replacing bridge loan) we shall be saving on the local currency, because these are Australian dollar denominated assets," Desai said. "It will now be a very clear and stable funding for which a methodology has been evolved. It shall be a long-term project finance for five years through a consortium of five top banks in Australia," Desai said. "The Abott Point acquisition, we can say, will now be funded on a long-term basis," he said. (More)
