Why SP Group is borrowing at distress-level rates

POOR LIQUIDITY

- RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH

WHEN THE INTEREST rate on the debt of a Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group unit climbed to 21.75% recently, it did not alarm distressed-debt investors.

What surprised lenders was that such pricing is being applied to one of India’s oldest and largest business groups.

In the country’s largest corporate bond sale, SP Group arm Porteast Investment raised ₹28,600 crore in May last year through three-year bonds at 19.75%. The cost rose to 21.75% in December after the company failed to meet a covenant linked to a stake sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

For the 156-year-old conglomerate, the high rates reflect not a lack of assets but a persistent liquidity squeeze and limited options to monetise its most valuable holding — Tata Sons.