SP Group company Goswami Infra seeks nod from bondholders to change terms of Rs 14,300 crore bonds
Shapoorji Pallonji Group company Goswami Infratech has approached bond investors to tweak a debt covenant to avoid a higher interest outgo.
In mid-2023, Goswami Infratech raised Rs14,300 crore zero coupon bonds maturing in April 2026, offering 18.75% as a redemption premium. These bonds also have a so-called most favoured nation (MFN) clause, which says that if any Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) group affiliate borrows at a higher rate after May 26, 2024, Goswami Infratech will have to offer the same return to its bondholders.
In market parlance, May 26, 2024, is the ‘trigger date’.
Now, Goswami Infratech has sought lenders’ approval to push back the trigger date by about four months to September 30, according to a consent letter issued by Goswami to bondholders on May 10.
The move will help the SP group buy more time to refinance its existing debt without paying a higher interest rate on the Rs14,300 crore bonds due in April 2026.
SP group did not respond to ET’s request for comment.
The group is in talks with Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to raise nearly Rs15,000 crore in loans by pledging a part of Tata Sons shares as collateral. PFC is seeking legal opinion on whether they can invoke the pledged shares in case of a default, as reported by ET earlier.
As it is, the interest rate paid by Goswami Infratech has risen by 200 basis points beginning January 1, 2024, since one of the covenants pertaining to monetising the port assets was breached. As per the bond clause, the company had to monetise Gopalpur Port by
