Billionaire Gautam Adani's group announced on Tuesday that it will repay USD 130 million in debt in order to restore investor confidence after being targeted by a US short-seller. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, the Adani Group's ports company, floated a tender last month to buy back up to USD 130 million of its July 2024 bonds and similar amounts in each of the next four as it sought to regain investor confidence by demonstrating a comfortable liquidity position.

According to APSEZ's stock exchange filing, an aggregae principal amount of USD 412.7 million was validly tendered.

"Since the principal amount of notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or prior to the early tender date (of May 8) exceeded the maximum acceptance amount of USD 130 million in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding notes, the company will accept such notes for purchase subject to a proration factor of 34.2649 percent," it said.

APSEZ announced on May 8 that the buyback programme for its 3.375 percent 2024 maturity dollar-denominated bonds had concluded.

"The purpose of the tender offer is to partly prepay the company's near-term debt maturities and to convey the company's comfortable liquidity position," it stated in a statement last month.

As dealer managers for the offer, the company had hired Barclays Bank, DBS Bank, Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, First Abu Dhabi Bank, PJSC, MUFG Securities Asia Singapore Branch, SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong), and Standard Chartered Bank.

In addition to the principal amount, the company will pay accrued interest on any notes purchased in the tender offer from the last interest payment date forward.