Shapoorji Refinancing Kickoff Eases Investor Debt Fears

“The successful closing of the Shapoorji deal will mark another milestone for India’s private credit market, lifting investor confidence,” said Ajay Manglunia, executive director at Capri Global Capital Management. “Some local funds are showing interest due to some visibility on Tata Sons.”

Secondary market trades show the pressure that had built. Some holders of Goswami’s non-convertible debentures offered them at about 90% of par earlier this year. No trades were reported at those levels. After progress on the refinancing, some offers moved closer to par, according to people familiar.

The most recent reported secondary trade took place June 16, when about ₹200 crore of Goswami NCDs changed hands at 165.33 rupees each, per data from the National Stock Exchange of India.

Shapoorji’s new three-year zero-coupon rupee bonds are priced to yield 18.95%. Existing investors get a small discount, taking their effective yield to about 19.05%. The bonds include a greenshoe option. The borrowing is backed by shares in group firm Afcons Infrastructure Ltd and Tata Sons. The loan agreement requires the company to repay ₹13,500 crore within 24 months.

SP Group and Farallon did not immediately reply to emails seeking comment. Deutsche Bank, Cerberus and Davidson Kempner declined to comment.