Latham & Watkins Advises Vedanta Resources On Issuance Of USD 1 Billion Of 6.375% Bonds Due In 2022

Latham & Watkins, the world’s highest-grossing law firm with USD 2.6 billion annual revenue and one of the most prestigious and profitable law firms in the world, advised Vedanta Resources plc, a global diversified metals and mining company (which is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India), regarding the issuance of USD 1 billion of 6.375% bonds due for maturity in 2022. This is the largest single-tranche G3 high-yield bond issuance from Asia ex-Japan since 2015. The bonds will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The deal consisted of two separate parallely run transactions: The first transaction was the bond issue and the second one was the tender offer for certain outstanding bonds of the company, which were repaid by the new bond issuance. This is the fourth deal wherein Latham has advised Vedanta Resources.

Regarding the deal, CEO of Vedanta Resources Tom Albanese had previously said that “This transaction is in line with our financial strategy to extend maturities, optimize the balance sheet, and create value for all stakeholders. We are pleased with the strong demand these bonds received, with support from all major markets.”

Notably, Barclays Bank plc, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, J.P. Morgan Securities plc, and Standard Chartered Bank were the bookrunners (the main underwriters or lead-manager/arranger/coordinator in equity, debt, or hybrid securities issuances) for this transaction.

Rajiv Gupta, Singapore Partner and India Practice Head of Latham, said that “Latham is proud to once again be working with Vedanta on a landmark transaction. In this tradition, the dual transactions in this single deal were unique in many ways, not least in size and complexity.”

The Latham team was led by Rajiv Gupta and supported by Hong Kong Partner James Burnett, Hong Kong Counsel Lou Rabinowitz, and Associates Jalpit Amin, David Lee, and Esha Goel in Singapore.