Jaguar Land Rover Turnaround Fails to Dislodge Short Bond Bets
JLR is pursuing a $3.2 billion turnaround plan after Tata Motors posted larger-than-expected losses in the second quarter.
(Bloomberg) -- Short sellers are still circling bonds from Jaguar Land Rover even as the British luxury carmaker embarks on a savings plan to tackle larger-than-expected losses.
Shorts on JLR’s bonds have more than tripled since the start of the year to $283 million across the carmaker’s notes in dollars, euros and pounds, according to data from IHS Markit Ltd. The positions are holding near a record $328 million reached last month, the data show.
JLR is pursuing a 2.5 billion-pound ($3.2 billion) turnaround plan after its parent, India’s Tata Motors Ltd., posted larger-than-expected losses in the second quarter. Still, the restructuring plan will not be enough to remove negative pressure on the company’s credit grade in the short-term, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman at JLR declined to comment on the short positions.
Junk-rated JLR has already seen downgrades this year from the three largest ratings companies as it battles weakened demand in China, unfavorable diesel regulations and potential adverse impacts from Brexit negotiations.
The cost of insuring JLR’s bonds against losses in the credit-default swaps market jumped to the equivalent of 744 basis points earlier this month, an all-time high, according to data from CMA. The five-year contracts are currently quoted at the equivalent of 705 basis points, indicating a 46 percent probability of default in that period, the data show.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katie Linsell in London at klinsell@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Chris Vellacott, Abigail Moses
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