Hinduja Group begins bond sale process to raise ₹7,300 crore for Reliance Capital acquisition, says report

Hinduja Group plans to raise around ₹7,300 crore via two rupee bond offerings to partly fund its acquisition of Reliance Capital and has engaged Barclays and 360 One as bankers for the deal.

First Published21 Jun 2024

Barclays Plc and 360 ONE began the syndication process last week to seek investors; and the deal will likely be closed within a month, sources told Bloomberg. **(Representative Image / Bloomberg)**

Hinduja Group is set to raise approximately ₹7,300 crore ($873 million) through two rupee bond offerings, Bloomberg reported citing sources. This move is part of the funding strategy for acquiring Reliance Capital, it added.

Barclays Plc and 360 ONE have been appointed as arrangers and underwriters for this bond issuance. According to the sources, the arrangers commenced the syndication process last week to attract investors. The deal is anticipated to close within a month.

Representatives from the Hinduja Group, Barclays, and 360 ONE did not respond to queries, the report added.

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Speculation Around Financing of Acquisition

Private credit funds are currently in discussions with the arrangers to subscribe the bonds, one of the sources added.

This development ends months of speculation regarding the financing of Hinduja Group's acquisition of Reliance Capital (R-Cap).

A financial services firm formerly under the control of Anil Ambani — the younger brother of Asia’s wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL) successfully bid for the resolution of the debt-ridden R-Cap. IIHL is a subsidiary of the Hinduja Group.

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NCLT Defers IIHL's Plea for Deadline Extension

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has postponed the decision on IIHL's plea to extend the deadline for completing R-Cap's resolution to June 25.

The Bench remains scheduled to have the next hearing on June 25.

IIHL had sought a 90-day extension from May 27, 2024, to implement the approved resolution plan under Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and Rule 11 of the NCLT Rules, 2016.

The tribunal heard the matter on June 13 and June 20.

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Background of Reliance Capital's Issues

In November 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded R-Cap’s board due to governance issues and payment defaults by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company. The RBI appointed Nageswara Rao Y as the administrator, who invited bids in February 2022 to take over the company.

R-Cap had a debt exceeding ₹40,000 crore. Initially, four applicants submitted bids with resolution plans, but the committee of creditors rejected all four due to lower bid values. A challenge mechanism was then initiated, involving IIHL and Torrent Investments — which the former won.

(With inputs from Bloomberg and PTI)