A&O Shearman, TT&A, Linklaters Singapore, Harneys Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis, Clifford Chance and BLC Roberts & Associates have acted for Vedanta Resources Finance II, a subsidiary of London-based diversified mining group Vedanta Resources, on the issuance of USD1.75 billion in guaranteed senior bonds.
“The group was able to raise funds at a more efficient pricing and redeem costlier debt. This was also the first issuance after the demerger of VEDL and as Indian counsel, we assessed the impact of the terms for all the five demerged entities,” Priyanka Kumar, lead partner for TT&A, told India Business Law Journal.
TT&A advised Citigroup Global Markets, Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank’s Singapore branch, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, JP Morgan Securities, Mashreq Bank, SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered Bank, acting as the joint co-ordinators and managers.
The bonds were issued in three tranches: USD500 million 7% guaranteed senior bonds due 2032; USD700 million 7.375% guaranteed senior bonds due 2034; and USD550 million 7.75% guaranteed senior bonds due 2037.
The TT&A team comprised partners Rahul Gulati and Priyanka Kumar, managing associate Saara Ahmed, and associates Shrijaya Singh and Medha R Lakshmi.
The bonds are guaranteed by Vedanta Resources, Twin Star Holdings, Welter Trading and Vedanta Holdings Mauritius II.
The transaction marks the Vedanta group’s first US-dollar bond issuance following the completion of the demerger of Vedanta and the subsequent listing of its demerged businesses, namely Vedanta Iron and Steel, Vedanta Aluminium Metal, Vedanta Oil and Gas, and Vedanta Power.
Linklaters Singapore advised the joint global co-ordinators and managers on English and US federal law. The Linklaters team was led by partner and head of India practice Amit Singh and capital markets partner Michele Discepola.
“This was a landmark transaction for Vedanta Group and for the Indian high-yield market. As the largest-ever US dollar Indian corporate bond issuance, combined with concurrent tender offers and consent solicitations, it required seamless co-ordination, technical expertise and disciplined execution across multiple workstreams,” Singh said.
“For us, it demonstrates the continued depth of international demand for Indian credits and the value of well-structured refinancing solutions in helping issuers strengthen their maturity profile and secure long-term capital.”
Linklaters managing associate Ashwin Tiwari, and associates Anushri Maskara and Putri Meisita Kusuma assisted on the bond issuance. Managing associate Alwyn Loy, and associates Edward Lee and Chloe Choo advised on the liability management aspects of the transaction.
The transaction brought together the firm’s debt capital markets and liability management expertise to support complex and wide-ranging refinancing needs across multiple workstreams and jurisdictions.
A&O Shearman advised the consortium of international financial institutions acting as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on two concurrent financing facilities provided to Twin Star Holdings, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources.
The A&O Shearman team was led by Singapore-based partner Gautam Narasimhan, with support from consultant David Wilson, senior associate Aditya Vikram, associates Kathleen Tay and Nihal Sharma, and trainee Daniel-Paul Osahon.
Harneys Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis advised the joint global co-ordinators and managers on Cypriot law. Clifford Chance advised Vedanta Resources Finance II, and the guarantors on English and US federal law. BLC Roberts & Associates advised the joint global co-ordinators and managers on Mauritian law.
