Goa International Airport secures Rs 24.75 bn debt facility

27 Nov 2023 CW Team

The debt, in the form of senior bonds, carries a 10% coupon rate and has a maturity period of 19 years and 10 months. The subscription details include ICICI Bank investing Rs 6 billion, IIFCL Rs 5 billion, JP Morgan Securities Rs 4 billion, JP Morgan Securities Asia Rs 3.75 billion, Aditya Birla Capital and Tata Cleantech contributing Rs 3 billion each.

Proceeds from the bonds will be allocated as follows: Rs 15.2 billion for term loan repayments, Rs 2.27 billion for subordinated debt repayment, Rs 3 billion for sponsors' debt repayment, and Rs 2.9 billion for phase 2 capex of airport construction, according to documents available at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The bond documents reveal a call option between December 2028 and March 2029, allowing GMR the right to repurchase bonds at a predetermined price, and a put option in March 2029, providing bondholders an early exit option.

GMR Group, ICICI Bank, JP Morgan, Aditya Birla Capital, Tata Cleantech, and IIFCL have not responded to ET's request for comments. Earlier reports had indicated GGIAL's plan to issue Rs 24.75 billion bonds on November 17.

GMR Group manages nine airport assets either in operation or under development, including airports in Delhi and Hyderabad through separate special purpose vehicles. The new airport in north Goa commenced operations in January 2023.

The Mopa airport, spread across 2,132 acres, is designed to accommodate a significantly higher number of passengers compared to the existing Dabolim airport in south Goa. Currently handling 10,000 passengers daily, the Mopa airport, with an initial capacity of 4.4 million passengers per annum, is planned for phased development with a saturation capacity of about 33 million passengers per year. Some of the bond proceeds will also contribute to the development of Mopa airport's phase 2.

GMR is concurrently constructing an airport in Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh, costing Rs 47?48 billion, with an expected capacity for 24 million passengers. Additionally, the company is involved in the development of Heraklion International Airport in Greece, the Kualanamu International Airport project in Medan, Indonesia, and holds responsibilities for airport development and modernization in Nagpur, Maharashtra. GMR Airport is in the process of raising Rs 50 billion to refinance all outstanding debt, with Rs 19 billion already secured for a term of three years at 13.75%, as per a Care Ratings report on November 7. GMR Airports is a subsidiary of publicly-listed GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd, with France's Groupe ADP holding a 49% stake and GMR Airport Infrastructure holding the majority 51%.

JP Morgan, Tata Cleantech Capital, Aditya Birla Finance, ICICI Bank, and India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) have jointly extended a debt facility of Rs 24.75 billion to GMR Goa International Airport (GGIAL). GGIAL, a special purpose vehicle established by GMR Airports for the development and operation of the new airport in Goa, will utilize the funds to refinance existing debts and support on-going capital expenditure initiatives, as per sources familiar with the matter. The debt, in the form of senior bonds, carries a 10% coupon rate and has a maturity period of 19 years and 10 months. The subscription details include ICICI Bank investing Rs 6 billion, IIFCL Rs 5 billion, JP Morgan Securities Rs 4 billion, JP Morgan Securities Asia Rs 3.75 billion, Aditya Birla Capital and Tata Cleantech contributing Rs 3 billion each. Proceeds from the bonds will be allocated as follows: Rs 15.2 billion for term loan repayments, Rs 2.27 billion for subordinated debt repayment, Rs 3 billion for sponsors' debt repayment, and Rs 2.9 billion for phase 2 capex of airport construction, according to documents available at the Bombay Stock Exchange. The bond documents reveal a call option between December 2028 and March 2029, allowing GMR the right to repurchase bonds at a predetermined price, and a put option in March 2029, providing bondholders an early exit option. GMR Group, ICICI Bank, JP Morgan, Aditya Birla Capital, Tata Cleantech, and IIFCL have not responded to ET's request for comments. Earlier reports had indicated GGIAL's plan to issue Rs 24.75 billion bonds on November 17. GMR Group manages nine airport assets either in operation or under development, including airports in Delhi and Hyderabad through separate special purpose vehicles. The new airport in north Goa commenced operations in January 2023. The Mopa airport, spread across 2,132 acres, is designed to accommodate a significantly higher number of passengers compared to the existing Dabolim airport in south Goa. Currently handling 10,000 passengers daily, the Mopa airport, with an initial capacity of 4.4 million passengers per annum, is planned for phased development with a saturation capacity of about 33 million passengers per year. Some of the bond proceeds will also contribute to the development of Mopa airport's phase 2. GMR is concurrently constructing an airport in Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh, costing Rs 47?48 billion, with an expected capacity for 24 million passengers. Additionally, the company is involved in the development of Heraklion International Airport in Greece, the Kualanamu International Airport project in Medan, Indonesia, and holds responsibilities for airport development and modernization in Nagpur, Maharashtra. GMR Airport is in the process of raising Rs 50 billion to refinance all outstanding debt, with Rs 19 billion already secured for a term of three years at 13.75%, as per a Care Ratings report on November 7. GMR Airports is a subsidiary of publicly-listed GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd, with France's Groupe ADP holding a 49% stake and GMR Airport Infrastructure holding the majority 51%.