Omaxe betting to restructure debt worth Rs 900 cr

Realty major Omaxe, which is facing a fiscal crunch, is in the process of restructuring debt worth Rs 900 crore The company, which has a debt of Rs 1,513 crore, is in talks with a clutch of banks towards this end.

Post-restructuring, the company’s cost of funds on the outstanding loans is expected to fall by up to 150 basis points, from the present level of 14%.

Omaxe, which has to repay loans of around Rs 85 crore by March 31, 2009, has deferred implementation of several projects by at least two years.

Meanwhile, global rating agency Fitch last week downgraded Omaxe’s national long-term rating and the rating on its Rs 300 crore long-term debt programme to ‘BB-(ind)’ from ‘A-(ind)/Negative’. The rating was downgraded on worries of the company’s profitability and operational cash flow because of the challenging industry environment.