Vedanta to proceed with dollar bond sale in first post-Adani India credit test

Mumbai: Vedanta Resources, which postponed a planned sale of dollar bonds last week after the Adani group's top officials were indicted by US prosecutors, will now launch the issue on Monday, according to two sources.

The issue, which could raise as much as $500 million, is the first since the Adani crisis and will test global appetite for Indian high yield credit following the allegations against Adani.

Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, has said the allegations made by the US authorities are "baseless".

"Since the Adani crisis has not blown out of proportion after the initial fears, the company deemed fit to go ahead with the issue," a banker with knowledge of the Vedanta sale told Reuters.

A second source familiar with the company's plans confirmed the sale would be going ahead.

The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Vedanta, which has interests ranging from oil and gas to mining and metals and is headquartered in the UK, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The notes have two maturities - one for 3.5 years and the other for seven years, for which the company has set an initial price guidance of 10.375 per cent and 11.375 per cent, respectively, the sources said.

The notes also have call options.

In September, Vedanta Resources raised $900 million in its first dollar bond issue in more than two years at a coupon of 10.875 per cent.

Vedanta will use the proceeds from the latest sale to refinance outstanding bonds due in 2028, one of the sources said.

Citigroup, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, and Standard Chartered Bank are the joint global coordinators and lead managers for Vedanta's dollar bond.

JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment, while Barclays, Citigroup, and Standard Chartered Bank did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.