Ashok Leyland issues $100-M convertible bonds

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 23 April 2004, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Ashok Leyland Ltd, India's second-largest truck and bus maker, said on Friday it had raised $100 million in foreign currency convertible bonds in an issue that was oversubscribed about five times. The issue would be listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company said in a statement. The coupon on the five-year bonds was set at 0.5 per cent per year and will be redeemed at par at the end of the term. The yield to maturity works out to 0.5 per cent. The bonds can be converted into local or global depository shares at the option of investors, at a conversion price of Rs 335 per share -- a 21.6 per cent premium to Thursday's closing price of Rs 275.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Ashok Leyland plans to use the funds for technological improvements and additions to its facilities. The company's principal shareholder, the UK's LRLIH Ltd, subscribed to the issue and was allocated $50.93 million in bonds, the statement said. Citigroup and UBS were joint book-runners and underwriters, while Amas Bank was an underwriter to the offering. Until this year, convertible debt issues had been fairly rare in India. But international investors' appetite for Indian assets has picked up amid a boom in Asia's third largest economy. Earlier this month, Zee Telefilms, Tata Motors and Bharti Televentures raised a total of $600 million with convertible bonds.