💼 Brief Take: Keeping the SP Dream Alive
Why some lenders are participating in the musical chairs despite the risk.
BlackRock is considering an initial investment of USD 100 million to USD 200 million in a dollar bond to be issued by a unit of India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
SP Group’s refinancing story hinges on the shared incentives among the company, creditors and arrangers to keep the hope alive.
BlackRock is considering an initial investment of USD 100 million to USD 200 million in a dollar bond to be issued by a unit of India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) this month, Reuters reported on 7 May 2026, citing two people directly familiar with the transaction.
Eveline’s Take
The Indian group is offering yields of at least 14% to investors including BlackRock and JPMorgan to raise up to USD 1 billion from a three-year bond, Bloomberg reported on 30 April. Meanwhile, local rating agency CareEdge has downgraded SP unit Goswami Infratech’s non-convertible debentures, citing delayed fundraising at the group level that heightened refinancing risk.
On 20 January, I wrote that Asia’s high-yield market is essentially a game of musical chairs where lenders pass a credit to each other, but SP Group has elevated it to a new level as it navigates steeper borrowing costs and tight timelines. The cost of its private credit financing reportedly stepped up to 21.75% after Goswami Infratech missed a refinancing deadline.
I also noted on 14 April that SP Group’s refinancing pitch is centered on the potential monetization of its illiquid stake in Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group, which would require an alignment of local regulations, financial calculations and prominent Indian personalities.
There are three likely reasons why lenders are still participating in this musical chairs despite the risk.
First, there’s big money involved in keeping the game going. Deutsche Bank has earned more than USD 50 million in fees over the past four years by arranging a series of debt refinancing transactions for SP Group, Moneycontrol reported on 5 May. “The repeated refinancings have created a steady fee pool for arrangers even as SP Group’s cost of borrowing has remained elevated,” according to the Indian news agency.
Second, the nature of the musical chairs is that some lenders don’t even have to believe that the Tata Sons listing will happen – they just need enough people to believe it to extend the bridge long enough for them to get out.
Third, some creditors who have built a sizeable exposure to SP Group wouldn’t want the conglomerate to default before they are at least partially repaid, so they may contribute a bit more money to lengthen the bridge.
The problem is that the cost of buying time is getting higher and higher for SP Group. In April, the conglomerate’s unit Goswami Infratech had to pay its bondholders a 25-basis-point consent fee to extend the notes by two months until 30 June.
SP Group’s refinancing story is not necessarily about fundamentals – it hinges on the shared incentives among the company, creditors and arrangers to keep the hope alive.
Acrostics Asia Coverage
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that delivers forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.