Sun Pharma Plans $1 Billion Local Debt Sale

India’s Sun Pharmaceutical Industries plans to raise around 100 billion rupees ($1.04 billion) through a rupee-denominated debt sale, according to three sources. The funds are expected to partly refinance a bridge loan taken to finance its acquisition of US healthcare company Organon & Co.

Sun Pharma, India’s largest drugmaker by market value, secured a nearly $12 billion, 18-month bridge loan earlier this year for the all-cash Organon acquisition. The new bonds are expected to have maturities of two, three and four years, providing longer-term funding to replace part of the short-term borrowing.

The planned sale comes as Indian companies increasingly turn to domestic debt markets as higher US yields make dollar borrowing more expensive. Bankers expect domestic corporate debt issuance in India to reach a record this year, while companies are also seeking to lock in borrowing costs ahead of a possible Reserve Bank of India rate hike.

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