Mumbai: Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S has reportedly backed out from the debt-resolution plan for Suzlon Energy Ltd, thus forcing the troubled Indian wind turbine maker to withdraw its repayment offer to lenders, according to Bloomberg reports. This was unveiled to the news agency by people familiar with the matter, one of which has said that the banks are yet to determine what the next step will be.
According to a previous Bloomberg report, Suzlon made a proposal that would have seen creditors take a haircut of 44%, offering to pay back Rs 85 billion (USD 1.19bn/EUR 1.08bn). Now, both Vestas and Brookfield Asset Management Inc have reportedly abandoned their intention to help Suzlon.
In mid-July, Suzlon failed to make a USD-172-million (EUR 156m) payment on convertible bonds with a total value of $546.9 million. The group’s consolidated net term debt amounted to Rs 77.51 billion at the end of June 2019, with working capital debt reaching Rs 40 billion.
The settlement was the only offer before the lenders led by State Bank of IndiaNSE 0.24 % after Brookfield Asset Management Inc. dropped out last month, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. The banks are yet to decide on the next steps to recover their dues, one of the people said.
Indian wind-turbine maker has been struggling since 2017 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government shifted to auctions as the preferred method to install wind projects. That curtailed orders for the company amid rising operational costs and stiffer competition from global players.
Suzlon Energy Ltd lost 8.17% to Rs 3.26 at 14:50 IST.The stock was the biggest loser in the BSE's 'A' group.On the BSE, 20.76 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 17.73 lakh shares in the past one month. The stock, which has plummeted about 40% this year, is set to close at the lowest level since listing.
