Tata Motors retires $345 million foreign debt

Tata Motors, India's largest truck maker, has retired $345 million debt by offering its foreign currency bondholders the option to convert earlier at a reduced conversion price.

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the maker of the ultra-cheap Nano cars said the offer was well received, with bondholders representing 93 per cent of yen-denominated bonds and 76 per cent of dollar-denominated bonds opting to convert their bonds into ordinary shares.

The company allotted 26.64 million equity shares to the bondholders, the statement said.

The company had said last week that it was offering an early conversion of bonds into stock through an auction to help reduce the debt on its balance sheet.

The offer, managed by Standard Chartered Bank, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and J P Morgan, has helped improve the company's net worth and enhance financial flexibility, the statement said.