JSW Infra raises $400 million though SLB issue

JSW Infrastructure Ltd. said it has successfully raised $400 million 144A/Reg S Senior Secured Guaranteed Sustainability-Linked Bond for a 7-year tenor at 4.950%.

The proceeds of this issue will be used to repay the existing debt of the company and its subsidiaries and as permitted by RBI under the ECB Guidelines.

“This fundraises marked the company’s debut bond issue as well as the first Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) from an Indian ports company,” the company said in a statement. This Sustainability-Linked Bond issue is guided by JSW Infrastructure’s Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework which is aligned to the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), it said. The company said it has obtained a second party opinion from DNV, describing the Sustainability Performance Target set as “ambitious” and “beyond what is considered ‘business-as-usual’”.

Arun Maheshwari, JMD & CEO, JSW Infrastructure said, “It [the bond issue] will help us to realign our capital structure and bring in more funding efficiency in the coming years. The success of this Issue validates our stable business model with our renewed focus on Sustainability-linked business strategy.” Lalit Singhvi, Executive Director & CFO said, “This Bond Issue will enable us to further diversify, strengthen our sources of funding and optimise our capital structure.”

The deal received a strong response from investors globally, resulting in the order book to peak at $1.35 billion with final order book in excess of $1.13 billion with an oversubscription of 3 times, the company said.