Comments
The troubled wind-turbine maker Suzlon Energy offered to repay about ₹8,500 crore ($1.2 billion) to lenders as part of a bad-debt-resolution plan, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Creditors led by State Bank of India will have to take a haircut of as much as 44 per cent on Suzlon’s debt if the offer is accepted, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. The settlement plan backed by Vestas Wind Systems A/C is the only bid in front of lenders after Brookfield Asset Management Inc. dropped out of the race, one of the people said.
The Pune-based manufacturer has been embattled after the Centre shifted to auctions in 2017 as the preferred method to install wind projects. That’s limited orders for domestic turbine manufacturers amid rising operational costs and stiffer competition from global players.
It is a tough situation for Suzlon with tight competition, amid rising operational costs and funding costs, said Mathew Antony, managing partner of Aditya Consulting. The company needs strategic investors with long-term investment window of at least 10 years.
A spokesman for SBI and spokeswoman for Suzlon didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Suzlons long-term bank facilities were downgraded to D from BB in April by Care Ratings and the company missed payments on its dollar-denominated convertibles last month.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.