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Suzlon subsidiary repays 590.4 million in bonds

Mumbai: Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy Ltd on Friday said its step-down subsidiary in the Netherlands, AE-Rotor Holding BV (AERH), had repaid $590.4 million to bondholders on 29 April and also arranged a credit facility of equivalent amount.

AERH availed a credit facility of $590.4 million maturing in March 2018 from the London branches of State Bank of India (SBI) and Export-Import Bank of India at a coupon rate of 3.30% backed by a stand-by letter of credit (SBLC), Suzlon said in a statement.

AERH had issued five-year bonds on 28 March 2013 for $647 million.

“Separately, majority of the SBLC facility lenders have consented to extend the same till 2023. The said credit facility would also get extended up to year 2023, post obtaining the required regulatory approvals,” said chief financial officer Kirti Vagadia.

On Wednesday, Suzlon said it will merge its three wholly-owned subsidiaries SE Blades Ltd, SE Electricals Ltd and Suzlon Wind International Ltd with itself in order to “optimize” working capital and reduce costs.

Earlier this month, Suzlon Energy said it acquired five companies for an undisclosed sum to help implement its diversification into the solar energy industry, including the execution of its recently won 70 megawatt (MW) solar project in Maharashtra.

Shares of the company, which has an installed capacity of 15 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy in India and ove