Adani in talks with global banks for $3.5 billion loan in one of top Asia loans in 2023: Report

The Adani Group is in talks with global banks to refinance debt taken on to fund its purchase of Ambuja Cements Ltd, with lenders divided into three categories, in what could be one of Asia’s largest syndicated loan deals of the year. The global banks are likely to refinance a total of $3.5 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

The ports-to-power conglomerate would repay at least $300 million on the original Ambuja facility. Billionaire Gautam Adani's group has been in talks with lenders for several months as it seeks to refinance as much as $3.8 billion worth of debt taken for its Ambuja acquisition. 

DBS Group Holdings Ltd., First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. would each lend about $400 million, while other banks would lend smaller amounts, said the report.

The advancing negotiations of the loan deals are the latest sign that the conglomerate is returning to a more normal order of business after being held by allegations of stock price manipulation by US shortseller Hindenburg Research earlier this year. 

The report published by Hindenburg erased more than $150 billion from the company’s stocks at one point, however, the Adani Group has repeatedly denied the allegations. 

The loan transaction has not yet been finalized and the terms could still change. If the deal closes, it would be the fourth-biggest loan in Asia outside Japan this year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. 

As part of its return to capital markets after the Hindenburg episode, the group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises already raised ₹12.5 billion by issuing local-currency bonds in July. Veteran investor Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners LLC has also purchased a stake in group firms, through various bulk deals. On Wednesday, shares of Adani Enterprises settled 0.42 per cent lower at ₹2,525 apiece on the NSE.