Adani lenders weigh up to $750 million loan for Ambuja debt

Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Standard Chartered Plc are in talks to lend between $600 million and $750 million collectively to Adani Group, as part of discussions to refinance the debt taken to fund its purchase Ambuja Cements Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

The loan would be syndicated, said the people, who asked not be named as the matter is private. Billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate is also in discussions with other lenders, as it seeks to refinance as much as $3.8 billion of a loan facility taken for its Ambuja acquisition.

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If executed, the loan of as much as $750 million would be part of that broader refinancing. The talks haven’t yet concluded, and the amounts could still change.

Adani Group, Barclays, Deutsche and Standard Chartered all declined to comment.

The discussions take place six months after US shortseller Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of widespread corporate malfeasance in January, prompting a surge in dollar borrowing costs. Adani has denied the allegations, and the company’s cost of capital has dropped again.

With its debt metrics improving, the conglomerate has returned to fundraising.

AdaniConneX sold $213 million worth of senior debt to finance data center construction in June, while flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. firm raised 12.5 billion rupees through a local currency bond sale earlier this month.

Adani’s purchase of Holcim Ltd.’s Indian cement assets last year made the conglomerate the country’s second-largest producer of the construction material.

To finance that deal, bridge loans maturing in 2023 and 2024 were taken out by Mauritius-domiciled Endeavour Trade & Investment, the Adani Group vehicle that acquired Holcim’s cement business.