Emami Group To Pare Entire Rs 2,600 Crore Debt In Nine Months
The promoters have been looking at options, ranging from divestment to taking the business to the public, to monetise assets.
Emami Group will pare its entire debt of Rs 2,600 crore over the next nine months, a top company official said on Sunday.
“The group is fully covered to meet all repayment obligations in the group companies,” said Prashant Goenka, whole-time director at Emami Ltd.
"We are fully covered to meet all repayment obligations in the group companies. In the last four months, we repaid Rs 2,800 crore. The group promoters' debt is now at Rs 2,600 crore. The group will become debt-free in the next nine months and promoters are working in this direction," he added.
The Emami promoters have been looking at various options, ranging from divestment to taking businesses public, to monetise assets.
While Goenka did not discuss the monetising strategies in detail, he said divestment of non-core businesses was one of the fundraising options. AMRI Hospitals and pharmacy retail chain Frank Ross is on the radar. Emami Cement has received regulatory approval for an intial public offering to raise Rs 1,000 crore.
India Ratings recently downgraded Emami Frank Ross Ltd.'s Rs 125 crore bank loans' ratings to BBB+. The Emami Group holds 74.89 percent stake in Frank Ross, while its stake in AMRI Holdings stands at 98.02 percent.
The promoters had sold 20 percent stake in Emami Ltd. to raise Rs 2,830 crore in two tranches and used the funds to pare debt. This had led to a decrease of promoter holding in Emami to about 52 percent.
Emami Group is engaged in the business of personal and healthcare products, paper, hospitals, edible oils, bio-diesel, cement, real estate, retail chains, power and art.