Reliance is a net-zero debt firm with its cash balance of Rs 2.59 lakh crore.
New Delhi:
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday said it has raised $4 billion debt in the country’s largest-ever foreign currency bond deal. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate raised the money in foreign currency denominated bonds and plans to use the proceeds to retire existing borrowings.
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Reliance raised $1.5 billion in a 10-year tranche, $1.75 billion in a 30-year and $750 million in a 40-year deal.
The deal marked the largest ever foreign currency bond transaction in India, RIL said, eclipsing the previous record set by ONGC Videsh in 2014 when it raised $2.2 billion in U.S. dollar bonds.
“This transaction is significant on various counts – largest-ever foreign currency bond issuance from India, tightest ever implied credit spread over the respective US Treasury across each of the 3 tranches by an Indian Corporate, lowest coupon achieved for benchmark 30-year and 40-year issuances by a private sector BBB corporate from Asia ex-Japan, and first-ever 40-year tranche by a BBB private sector corporate from Asia ex-Japan,” RIL stated.
Reliance said the proceeds from the issuance of notes will be utilised primarily for refinancing of existing borrowings.
The issue was “nearly 3 times oversubscribed with a peak order book aggregating $11.5 billion and was priced through RIL’s secondary curve,” the company said.
Reliance is a net-zero debt firm with its cash balance of Rs 2.59 lakh crore, exceeding its gross debt of Rs 2.55 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021.
RIL said interest on the notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears.
The issue (notes) received orders from over 200 accounts in Asia, Europe and the United States. In terms of geographic distribution, the Notes were distributed: 53 per cent in Asia, 14 per cent in Europe and 33 per cent in the United States.
Srikanth Venkatachari, Joint Chief Financial Officer of RIL, commented, “We are extremely pleased with the strong outcome on our multi-tranche long dated US dollar bond issuance, having issued not only the largest debt capital market transaction at US$4 billion but also the tightest credit spreads across each of the long-dated tenors for any corporate in India.”
BofA Securities, Citigroup, and HSBC acted as Joint Global Coordinators. BofA Securities, Citigroup, HSBC, Barclays, JP Morgan and MUFG acted as Joint Active Bookrunners. ANZ, BNP PARIBAS, Credit Agricole CIB, DBS Bank Ltd., Mizuho Securities, SMBC Nikko, Standard Chartered Bank and State Bank of India, London Branch acted as Joint Passive Bookrunners.
