Adani Ports to tap bond market for first time in more than two years

India's largest private port operator Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone plans to raise funds totalling 5 billion rupees ($60.08 million) through two bonds, one maturing in five years and the other in 10 years, three bankers said on Thursday.

The company, which will tap the market for the first time since October 2021, has invited bids from bankers and investors on Monday, they said.

The announcement comes a day after India's Supreme Court said the Adani Group does not need to face more investigations beyond the market regulator's current scrutiny, a major relief for the conglomerate hit hard by a U.S. short-seller's allegations of wrongdoing.

Both of Adani Ports's bonds have an issue size of 2.5 billion rupees. The company will offer a coupon of 8.70% on the bonds maturing in five years and an 8.80% coupon on the bonds maturing in 10 years.

The bonds are rated AA+ by India Ratings and ICRA. Trust Investment Advisors is the sole arranger of the issue.

In December, Reuters reported that Adani Ports was mulling raising funds up to 10 billion rupees from the domestic bond market in the last quarter of the financial year.

The company, which operates 13 ports and terminals in the country, had announced in December it would raise up to 50 billion rupees by issuing bonds through private placements in one or more tranches.

A majority of the funds issued will be used to refinance existing debt, it said. The company last tapped the bond market in October 2021, when it raised 10 billion rupees at a coupon of 6.25%.

Among Adani Group companies, Adani Ports and SEZ, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, and within Adani Enterprises, airports and roads may tap the domestic bond market in the near future, Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh had said.

Adani Enterprises has raised nearly 20 billion rupees through two unlisted bond issuances this year in July and October.

Adani Enterprises returned to the local corporate bond market in July for the first time since January when a U.S.-based short-seller's scathing report sparked a rout in the group's securities.