Debt-ridden Jaiprakash Power Ventures said on Thursday it proposes to extend the standstill agreement with its bondholders by eight weeks or alternatively sign an interim standstill agreement/letter for such period while a commercial agreement on a definitive proposal is reached.
Foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) issued by the company worth $200 million in February 2010 were due for redemption on February 13 after the company negotiated a similar agreement in February last year.
JP Power Ventures then entered into a standstill agreement with bondholders to extend the deadline to repay money it owes them. The company owes its bondholders $101.42 million.
In a filing to the stock exchanges on Thursday, the company said it is still engaged in discussions with Indian banks to source funds to repay part of the outstanding amount due on the bonds. “Due to certain extraneous circumstances, the company’s discussions with Indian banks are taking longer than originally anticipated,” the statement added.
The FCCBs have a conversion price of R85.81 per share. On Thursday, shares of JP Power Ventures closed at R4.68 on the BSE. In early February 2010, when the company issued FCCBs, the stock was trading at close to R68.
At the end of March 2015, the consolidated net debt stood at R31,409.73 crore, according to Bloomberg data.
In September last year, Jaiprakash Power sold its Karcham Wangtoo and Himachal Baspa II hydropower units to JSW Energy for an enterprise value of R9,700 crore. Analysts observed at the time that the asset sale was necessitated by high interest costs and and losses on account of its coal blocks for the 1.3 GW Nigrie project being cancelled.