Hit by domestic slowdown and recession in the West, corporate giant Tatas are striving to raise over Rs 15,000 crore on top of the Rs 13,000 crore it got from the sale of equity in a telecom subsidiary.
Resource mobilisations through public offer of debt securities, sale of Tata Motors' vehicle loan pool, private equity placement and soliciting public deposits apart, the group is also seeking support from the UK and Dutch governments for rescuing its prized purchases Corus and Jaguar-Land Rover.
While Tatas' discussions with the governments in Britain and Netherlands have not taken a final shape either way, the market regulator has asked for clarifications on an open offer related to the sale of 26 per cent equity in Tata Teleservices to Japan's NTT DoCoMo. The company refused to comment on the development.
There were also no response on the quantum and options of fund mobilisation, but estimates show that it could be in the range of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore.
After initiating the process for raising about Rs 2,700 crore through public deposits, Tata Motors is believed to be mulling to raise about Rs 10,000 crore by selling its vehicle loan pool, most probably to a group company. At the same time, another group entity Tata Capital is looking to raise about Rs 1,000 crore through a public offer of debt securities. The same company is also planning to raise about $350-500 million (about Rs 2,000 crore) through the private equity route.
The various fund-raising plans coincides with a string of rating downgrades for some group companies such as Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals by credit rating agencies, including Standard and Poor's and Moody's — a development that makes raising debts difficult and costlier.
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