According to persons with direct knowledge of the proceedings, Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) have started negotiations to raise up to $1.2 billion for the refinancing of a portion of the Rs 20,000 crore loan that matures in the final week of May.
The individuals, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that the talks about funding have been going on for a few weeks. For the initial financing, SP Group guaranteed its 18% ownership in Tata Sons, the Tata Group's parent company.
The Mistry family raised the money through Sterling Investment Corp. Pvt Ltd (SICPL), which controls little more than 9% of Tata Sons, according to SP Group's corporate records. The bonds, which had a 3.5-year maturity and were sold in 2021, were mostly purchased by hedge fund Farallon Capital and alternative investment manager Ares SSG.
PFC was founded in 1986 with the primary goal of advancing the power industry in India. From that time until 1996, all of its loans went to state-run businesses. It then expanded to cover projects and power utilities in the private sector. Its scope has been extended to include lending to borrowers in the non-power sector as of late.
Emails were addressed to PFC and SP Group representatives, but no one responded.
Goswami Infratech, an SP Group company, raised Rs 14,300 crore in June of last year from a group of investors that included Cerberus Capital, Varde Partners, Canyon Capital, Davidson Kempner, and existing lenders Deutsche Bank, Edelweiss Special Opportunities Fund, and Ares SSG. The investors' contributions were made in rupees. According to a March 11 Moneycontrol article, SP Group was also in talks with its current lenders to postpone paying down a sizable amount of the debt.
On March 26, SP Group announced that it has reached a deal to sell a 95% share in Gopalpur Port in Odisha for Rs 1,349 crore with Adani Ports and the Special Economic Zone. A significant provision of its credit arrangement requiring the sale of Gopalpur within a predetermined timeframe would be fulfilled by Adani Ports when it purchases a 56% share in the port SP Group and a 39% share from Orissa Stevedores.
Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, a construction business supported by the SP Group, submitted share sale paperwork to the Securities Exchange Board of India in March with the intention of raising Rs 7,000 crore through an IPO. The group's credit deal with lenders also stipulates that Afcons must be listed publicly by June.
