S&P Global withdraws rating of Adani Transmission at firm's request

S&P Global Ratings withdrew its rating for Adani Transmission Ltd., ending an assessment of barely investment grade at the company’s request. 
 

The withdrawal of the BBB- rating follows a restructuring at the company, part of the conglomerate of Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man. The revamp didn’t weaken the protection for bondholders, S&P said. 

The shift comes just a few weeks after a report by CreditSights, which called the group “deeply overleveraged.” The research firm later revised its label, though stuck to its main conclusion that the conglomerate, which owns India’s largest private-sector port and airport operator, has too much debt. 

In a rebuttal to CreditSights, Adani Group termed the leverage ratios of its companies “healthy.” 

The conglomerate is in advanced talks with the infrastructure-focused Jaiprakash Group to buy their cement business for about 50 billion rupees ($607 million), Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing people familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for Adani Group didn’t immediately comment when contacted by Bloomberg on Thursday to find out about the reasons for the withdrawal request. 

S&P still rates Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. at BBB- with a stable outlook, according to a spokesman.