Suzlon Group gets lenders' nod for the debt restructuring plan

Suzlon Group has announced the completion of its debt restructuring with approval of secured lenders.

Under the restructuring, term debt has been reduced with an interest of 9 per cent repayable over ten years starting July 1, 2020.

Balance debt of secured consortium lenders replaced by 0.01 per cent Optionally Convertible Debenture (OCD) of the company and 0.0001 per cent Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) of its subsidiary redeemable or convertible in 20 years.

Tulsi Tanti, Founder and CMD, Suzlon Group, said: “Consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India and the Company have worked together to protect the interests of all the stakeholders involved, thereby protecting the Indian Wind Energy sector, saving thousands of direct and indirect jobs, ensuring the survival of large number of MSME vendors and protecting ~13 GW of operating wind energy assets of the nation."

J P Chalasani, Group CEO, said, “ Capital infusion of ₹392 crore by promoters, key shareholder and various stakeholders demonstrate their commitment and confidence in Suzlon. The Wind Energy sector in India is at an inflection point, and our debt restructuring has resulted in a stronger balance sheet enabling the company to focus on capturing the tremendous growth potential in the Indian Wind Energy sector."

Swapnil Jain, CFO, said, “This will ease the pressure on our cash flows significantly and give us headroom for ramping up business operations. We have reduced our fixed cost steeply and brought down the interest costs by more than 70 per cent. This has resulted in a substantial reduction in the break-even point from pre-restructuring levels, ensuring a long term sustainable business case. It improves our overall competitiveness in the market place, and now Suzlon is back to business from a position of strength.”