Mumbai: Suzlon Energy Ltd., which became India’s biggest convertible-note defaulter in 2012, said it missed payments on dollar-denominated convertibles due Tuesday.
The stressed wind-turbine maker faced a July 16 deadline to repay $172 million outstanding on such securities that were issued as part of a debt restructuring. While that revamp helped the company’s shares surge in 2014-2015, they’ve since slumped after India’s shift to auctions for building wind projects increased competition and diluted Suzlon’s market share.
“The company is working on holistic solution for its debt and continues to be in discussions with various stakeholders in relation to its outstanding debt (including the bonds),” it said in an exchange filing.
The stumble at Suzlon adds to strains in India’s credit market, where investors are still reeling from a string of defaults in the last year, from IL&FS Group to Dewan Housing Finance Ltd. The wind-turbine maker’s bank facility ratings were cut to default by Care Ratings in April after it failed to meet payback obligations to its lenders.
Some traders in Suzlon’s bonds have been pinning their hopes on a proposed acquisition of the embattled company by Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. A person familiar with the matter said earlier in July that Brookfield may make a binding offer for a stake in the company as soon as the end of the month.
Also read: Brookfield planning to offer majority stake in India’s Suzlon