Vedanta intends to use credit funds to raise up to $1 billion

According to people familiar with the matter, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group has turned to credit funds such as Farallon Capital, Davidson Kempner, and Ares SSG Capital to borrow more than $1 billion to meet upcoming repayments. This move comes as banks are tightening credit for the mines and minerals giant, which has been negotiating with global lenders such as JP Morgan, Barclays, Standard Chartered Bank, and Deutsche Bank to lower their asking rate for a $1 billion loan.

The loan was expected to be raised at the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) plus 500 basis points, but the lenders have given a term sheet at SOFR plus 800 basis points for the 3-3.5-year loan. Vedanta is exploring ways to raise funds to meet upcoming maturities after the government opposed the Hindustan Zinc (HZL) board's move to buy THL Zinc Ventures in a $2.98 billion cash deal.

Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL) is also in talks with private funds to raise $750 million to $1 billion to refinance the facility. VRL has large repayments in the next quarter, including US dollar bonds of $400 million in April and $500 million in May, along with another $1 billion bond maturing in January 2024, $1.1 billion term debt, $600 million interest payments, and $450 million inter-company loans.