Hotel Leelaventure buy backs FCCBs close to $50 mn

Hospitality major Hotel Leelaventure today said it has bought back nearly 50 million dollars foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) at discount from the international markets.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Hotel Leela said that till March 31, 2009, the company has bought back and cancelled FCCBs worth USD 33 million, constituting 33 per cent of its USD 100 million bonds due in April 2012.

Further, the hotel chain operator has also bought back FCCBs worth Euro 12.20 million (about USD 16.53 million), which constitutes 23.7 per cent of the Euro 51.40 million bonds due in September 2010, it said.

"Our FCCB buyback exercise will not only add to our bottomline, but also generate good savings in the redemption premium which would otherwise have been payable on maturity," Hotel Leelaventure Vice Chairman and MD Vivek Nair said.

Last year, the Reserve Bank of India had allowed the corporate houses to buyback FCCBs from the foreign markets if they are trading at a discount of 25 per cent from their book value.

Shares of Hotel Leelaventure were trading at Rs 21, up 2.19 per cent in the afternoon trade on the BSE.