24 February, 2017
Allen & Overy has advised Barclays, Citi, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank (as dealer managers and joint lead managers) on a debt refinancing transaction for Vedanta Resources, one of the world’s largest diversified natural resources companies. The transaction involved (i) abbreviated U.S. cash tender offers by Vedanta for any and all of its USD750m bonds due 2018 and USD1.2bn bonds due 2019 and (ii) a concurrent Rule 144A / Reg S offering of USD1bn in bonds due 2022 to finance the tenders. The cash tender offers were some of the first to be undertaken in Asia under the “abbreviated” U.S. tender offer rules which follow new guidance released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2015.
Commenting on the transaction, U.S. securities partner Amit Singh said: “This transaction was unique given the manner in which it was structured and the international nature of Vedanta’s business. Our role included ensuring compliance with new SEC guidance on abbreviated U.S. tender offers as well as addressing various challenges with undertaking concurrent cash tender offers with a new bond issuance. The transaction required due diligence across multiple jurisdictions in which Vedanta operates, where we were able to draw on the expertise of the Allen & Overy global network. The bond transaction follows on from many prior bond transactions successfully undertaken by Vedanta.”
The Allen & Overy team was led by partner Amit Singh, supported by senior associate Michele Discepola in Hong Kong, senior associate Felipe Duque and associates Husayn Reza, Raj Sankaran and Bryna Djuhar in Singapore, and senior associate Tom Mosher in London.
