Adani met Pimco, BlackRock for potential private bond placement

Adani Group executives met US investors, including from BlackRock Inc., Blackstone Inc. and Pacific Investment Management Co., as part of its plans to market privately placed bonds for some of its group companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The conglomerate led by billionaire Gautam Adani is aiming to raise up to $1 billion in two tranches this year via such a route, said the people, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak about it.

An Adani Group spokesperson did not immediately comment when contacted by Bloomberg. A representative for Pimco declined to comment. Representatives for BlackRock and Blackstone did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The meetings were part of a global roadshow that reached US cities including New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, as Adani seeks to reassure international investors that the ports-to-power empire’s finances are under control. As much as $153 billion in combined market value was erased from company stocks following a January short seller’s report.

Bloomberg first reported in February that Adani Group is considering offering privately placed bonds for at least three of its group companies.

Documentation work is likely to begin in April with the group aiming to launch the first tranche by September, according to the people. The size of the first tranche could be about $450 million, they said. The privately placed debt papers would be long term tenors in the range of 10-20 years, the people said, adding that the coupon rate could be somewhere around the 8% area.

Two of the group companies including Adani Transmission and Adani Green may sell those proposed bonds, the people said.

The short seller report from Hindenburg Research alleged stock manipulation and accounting fraud. Adani has denied the accusations.

--With assistance from P R Sanjai and Jill R. Shah.