The Adani Group is in talks with several foreign banks to refinance $3.5 billion in bridging loans secured this year for the acquisitions of Ambuja Cement and ACC. The loans were made by Mauritius-based promoter entity Endeavor Trade and Investment, a special purpose vehicle that purchased Ambuja Cement's stake from Swiss cement giant Holcim in a $6.5 billion cash transaction. The term of the refinanced loans is extended to five years. Adani currently controls 63.15 percent of Ambuja Cement and 56.69 percent of ACC (50.05 percent of which is held through Ambuja Cement).
Shortly after acquiring the companies in September, the promoters agreed to invest a further Rs 200 billion to double the capacity of the company. The combined installed production capacity of Ambuja Cement and ACC is 67.5 million tonnes per annum.
According to bankers, the earlier acquisition of Holcim's stake was financed by $4.5 billion in loans from 14 international banks, demonstrating the confidence of foreign banks in Indian companies.