Adani Enterprises' debut public bond sale to see strong demand, bankers say

The maiden public issue of bonds by India's Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), is expected to witness strong demand as yields are attractive, four merchant bankers said on Wednesday.

The company plans to raise up to 8 billion rupees ($95.3 million) through this issue, which includes a greenshoe option of 4 billion rupees.

The issue, which would be India's second-biggest for the current financial year, will open for subscription on Sept. 4 with closing scheduled for Sept. 17, according to an exchange filing.

In May, Motilal Oswal Financial raised 10 billion rupees via public issue, making it the country's biggest issue of the fiscal year.

"We are expecting the issue to get fully subscribed within the first couple of days, as the company is offering higher yields, and it is also the first time that they are tapping this route," one of the bankers involved in the deal said.

The company will sell two-year, three-year and five-year bonds, according to the filing, for which it will pay annual coupons of 9.25 per cent, 9.65 per cent and 9.90 per cent respectively.

Bondholders will also have an option of direct coupon payment at maturity, making the effective yield for these bonds the same as their annual coupons.

The three-year and five-year bonds will have an option of a quarterly interest payment, and the coupon for these notes are 9.32 per cent and 9.56 per cent.

Trust Investment Advisors, AK Capital Services and Nuvama Wealth Management are the lead arrangers for the issue, which is rated A+ by CareEdge. None of the arrangers immediately responded to Reuters' request for comments.

"The company has recovered from whatever has happened over the last 18 months, and retail investors would be keen to go for this issue as it has a brand recall value," another banker added.

Both the bankers requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

In July, Reuters reported it would launch a retail bond issue in coming weeks.

Adani Enterprises had raised 7 billion rupees via three-year bonds at a 10 per cent coupon in October, but the issue was mostly placed to private credit investors that generally seek higher returns, according to merchant bankers.