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20-07-2026
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: India’s Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group has completed its planned fundraising after accepting bids worth 215 billion rupees ($2.25 billion) for a three-year rupee bond issue, three sources said on Friday.
The long-delayed fundraising, aimed at refinancing existing debt, was completed through an investment by one SP Group entity in another, with investors assured the group would monetize part of its Tata Sons stake through a listing or share sale within 18 months.
SP Group, Tata Sons’ largest minority shareholder, owns around 18.4% of the company’s shares, has struggled for years to monetize the holding.
As part of the fundraising, SP Group company Eqyizen Investment raised funds through three-year zero-coupon rupee bonds yielding 18.95%. The issue closed for subscription on Friday and is due to settle on Monday, the sources said.
Mauritius-based SP Group entity Mercury Finance was a key investor in the rupee tranche after raising $650 million through three-year dollar bonds at a 14.50% yield, Reuters reported on Thursday.
“The Mauritius based SPV (special purpose vehicle) invested the entire proceeds from the dollar bonds into the rupee issue, which saw subscriptions from large private credit funds, as well, one of the sources mentioned above said.
Media could not identify the private credit funds that invested.
The sources declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the media. SP Group and Deutsche Bank, the sole arranger and an investor in the issue, did not respond to media requests for comment.
The rupee bonds are secured by the group’s Tata Sons stake, held through Cyrus Investments, with most of the proceeds earmarked to refinance existing debt.
In June 2023, another SP Group company, Goswami Infratech, raised 143 billion rupees through zero-coupon bonds at an 18.75% yield.
The notes have since had their maturity extended twice, most recently to July 31 from June 30, with the total payout, including interest, now estimated at about 145 billion rupees.
Earlier, SP Group opened its first-ever US dollar bond issue for subscription on Friday, looking to raise $650 million, three sources aware of the matter said.
The bond issue, delayed several times since the start of the year, is part of the company’s planned 255 billion rupees ($2.68 billion) fundraise, mostly to refinance existing debt. The delay was due to uncertainty over whether the group can unlock investments in the unlisted Tata Sons, in which it is a large shareholder, the sources said.
The sources said that easing hedging costs since the central bank’s measures to encourage dollar inflows could have turned the tide.
Mercury Finance, and SP Group company, is selling three-year securities at a yield of 14.50%, with a right to redeem them at the end of one year, the sources, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media, said.
SP Group did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
According to the sources, Deutsche Bank is the sole arranger for the issue and has underwritten a part of it, while BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is also likely to invest in it. Deutsche Bank declined to comment, while BlackRock did not reply to a Reuters query seeking confirmation. Alongside the dollar bond, another group entity, Eqyizen Investment, will sell three-year zero-coupon bonds for the remaining amount, at a yield of 18.95%, Reuters reported last week.
In early May, media reported, citing sources that BlackRock had agreed to invest in SP Group’s planned dollar bonds.
