Goswami Infratech sweetens offer to bondholders, in return for more time

By Saikat Das

Goswami Infratech Pvt has sweetened an offer to bondholders as it seeks more time for a payment due in May, according to a letter from the company to the bond’s trustee.
 

The New Delhi-based company is ready to pay 18 billion rupees ($216 million), 4 billion rupees more than the scheduled payment, according to the letter dated Saturday seen by Bloomberg. The delayed payment would be made no later than September 30.

Some holders of the 143 billion rupee ($1.7 billion) note issued by Goswami Infratech last year planned to ask for sweeteners such as a higher payment in exchange for potentially accepting a company proposal to delay a payment, Bloomberg reported on May 17.

Goswami Infratech is an investment company within the Shapoorji Pallonji group under billionaire Shapoor Mistry. Its projects include apartments, warehouses, parking spaces and shops. The company earlier said it may not be able to pay 14 billion rupees that could come due later this month if certain terms aren’t met, and effectively asked to push that back to later this year.

A Goswami Infratech spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment outside business hours on Saturday. 

A covenant stipulates that the Shapoorji Pallonji group must refinance certain debt of its main investment vehicle, Sterling Investment Corp. 

“The SP group is in the process of availing of Sterling Indebtedness from a new lender,” according to the letter. 

Private credit investors have been among holders of the Goswami Infratech bond, including Cerberus Capital Capital Management LP, Varde Partners LP and Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP. Others have included Canyon Capital, Edelweiss, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.