Torrent Power plans around $500 million bond sale, bankers say

The power producer is considering bond sales worth 45 billion rupees ($473.44 million) to 50 billion rupees ($526.04 million), across 3-, 5-, 7- and 10-year maturities, the three bankers familiar with the deal said.

The bankers requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media, while the company did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

In a pivotal decision, India's Supreme Court declared that the write-off of Yes Bank's 84 billion rupee AT-1 bonds is unlawful, causing a steep decline in Yes Bank shares. The ruling offers solace to bondholders, who successfully argued that their investments were misrepresented. This landmark decision raises critical questions about regulatory practices and bondholder rights, potentially reshaping market attitudes toward similar financial instruments.

"Torrent Power has already started speaking to investors and once they get some firm commitments, they could go ahead with the issue before end of this month," one of the bankers said.

In June, the company had raised 38 billion rupees through a similar structure, issuing bonds maturing in 3 years, 5 years, 7 years and 10 years at coupons of 8.10%, 8.15%, 8.20% and 8.20% respectively.

Torrent Power earmarked proceeds from the sale to fund its acquisition of Nabha Power, a coal-fired plant operator owned by Larsen & Toubro, for about 69 billion rupees, including debt.

Bond issuance to fund acquisitions gathered pace in 2025 and continued in 2026, as companies sought to diversify funding sources away from banks.

In March, Torrent Power raised 20 billion rupees through staggered redemption bonds maturing in 8 years, 9 years and 10 years at an annual coupon of 7.97%.