Shan’s Blog

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s flagship company Reliance Communications has said it has raised 1 billion dollar (Rs 4,400 crore) through an offering of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) in international markets.

In a filing on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said the 10,000 FCCBs of 1,00,000 dollar each would mature after five years at Rs 661.23 per share, reflecting a 30 per cent premium over yesterday’s volume weighted average price.

This is the highest amount raised through an FCCB issue by any Indian corporate entity, the previous being 500 million dollars also by Reliance Communications in March 2006.

The bonds carry a zero coupon rate and are expected to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, it added.

If and when the FCCBs are fully converted into equity, share capital of the Reliance Communications would increase by around 6.67 crore equity shares of Rs 5 each.

The company entered into the subscription agreement with the arrangers and book-runners, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and J P Morgan Securities Ltd.

The proceeds of the issue would be used for expansion of Reliance Communications’ network in 15,000-20,000 new towns and cities, Reliance Communications had said.

The FCCB issue come in the midst of the company’s endeavour to acquire Hutch-Essar Ltd, India’s fourth largest mobile player.

The company is also planning to roll out its Direct to Home (DTH) and IPTV services in the third quarter of next financial year.