SP Group unit to raise up to $200 million in rupee-denominated debt, bankers say

Eqyizen Investment, a unit of Shapoorji Pallonji ​Group, plans to raise around $150 million to $200 ‌million of rupee equivalent funds through ​the sale of zero-coupon rupee-denominated bonds ⁠maturing in July 2029, two bankers said on Friday.

“The company will finalise the quantum that ‌it intends to borrow in rupee terms and should be done ‌with the issuance before end of ‌November,” ⁠one of the bankers mentioned ⁠above said.

The bankers spoke on the condition of anonymity, while the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group did not respond ​to a Reuters request ‌for comment.

Bankers said some of the company’s approved borrowing limit remains unutilised and it wants to reach its fundraising ‌target.

In October, Eqyizen Investment had raised ​around ₹4,450 crore (about $473 million) through a similar debt issuance at a ⁠yield of 18.95%, after raising around ₹21,350 crore via another issue at ‌the same yield in July.

In both these instances, Mercury Finance, another SP Group firm, had raised funds through zero-coupon US dollar-denominated bonds due July 2029 and invested the proceeds in rupee securities of ‌Eqyizen.

The outlook for the real estate conglomerate’s ​bonds has improved after Tata Trusts, Tata Sons’ controlling shareholder, said that SP ⁠Group had proposed a plan to sell ₹⁠25,000 crore worth of its stake in Tata Sons.

The proposal ‌has yet to move forward amid differences between Tata Trusts and Tata ​Sons.

($1 = 94.1550 Indian rupees)