Will prepay $130 million debt to boost investor confidence, says Adani group

New Delhi: Indian billionaire Gautam Adani group announced that it will prepay $130 million of debt to boost investor confidence.

The move is to deal with the aftermath of the revelations by a US short-seller Hindenburg Research. The group's shares fell after the January 24 report accused it of accounting fraud and improper use of offshore tax havens for stock manipulation. The Adani Group denied all allegations.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone in April 2023 floated a tender to buy back as much as $130 million of its July 2024 bonds and similar amounts in each of the next four. This was to show its liquidity position is comfortable. In a stock exchange filing, APSEZ said an aggregate principal amount of $412.7 million was validly tendered.

The buyback programme for its 3.375% 2024 maturity dollar-denominated bonds closed on May 8. "The purpose of the tender offer is to partly prepay the company's near-term debt maturities and to convey the comfortable liquidity position." The company will pay accrued interest in respect of any notes purchased in the tender offer from and including the last interest payment date.

"Since the principal amount of notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or prior to the early tender date (of May 8) exceeded the maximum acceptance amount of USD 130 million in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding notes, the company will accept such notes for purchase subject to the proration factor of 34.2649%," said the group.

APSEZ had engaged Barclays Bank, DBS Bank, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank, PJSC, MUFG Securities Asia Singapore Branch, SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong), and Standard Chartered Bank to serve as dealer managers for the offer.