Kotak Bank's Arms Invests Rs 732 Crore In Rattanindia Power To Help Reduce Debt Costs

Kotak Mahindra Bank on Friday said two of its arms have invested Rs 732 crore in Rattanindia Power to help the thermal power plant operator reduce the cost of debt servicing.

Kotak Strategic Situations India Fund II and Kotak Private Credit Fund will be investing Rs 582 crore and Rs 150 crore, respectively, in the non-convertible debentures of RattanIndia Power, as per a statement.

The investment is part of an overall Rs 1,125 crore infusion by a consortium of lenders, it said, adding that it will be deployed for refinancing debt.

A media report in May said that the company is in talks with Kotak Mahindra Bank for the finance facility, which can bring down the debt servicing cost by 7-8%.

The fundraising is structured to match the expected cash flow generation and reduce overall costs, which is in sync with RIPL's improving financial profile, the statement from Kotak said. "This is the first investment from our new credit funds, which have participated across the capital stack for appropriate risk-adjusted returns," Srini Srinivasan, the managing director at Kotak Investment Advisors, which manages KSSF and KPCF, said. KSSF's chief executive, Eshwar Karra, said the investment is in line with its objective of providing solution capital to businesses needing patient funding and added that the solution addresses RIPL's financial requirements.

RIPL is a part of the RattanIndia Group, promoted by Rajiv Rattan, and operates a 1,350-MW thermal power plant in Maharashtra's Amravati.