Jubilant Bhartia’s Rs 5,650 Cr NCD Issue 1.9x Subscribed On AMC Demand For Coke Bottler Stake

Last Updated:June 05, 2025, 07:41 IST

Jubilant Bhartia’s Rs 5,650 crore bond sale for HCCB acquisition sees robust investor demand; What investors should know

Jubilant–Coca-Cola Deal: Jubilant Bhartia Group’s recent Rs 5,650 crore bond sale to part-fund its 40% acquisition of Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings (HCCB) saw a surge in investor interest, with leading mutual funds, spearheaded by HDFC AMC, emerging as key participants, according to The Economic Times (ET).

The two separate NCD issues, managed by group entities Jubilant Beverages Ltd and Jubilant Bevco, collectively attracted bids worth Rs 10,610.84 crore—almost twice the targeted amount, ET reported. Jubilant Beverages, targeting Rs 2,650 crore, received bids of Rs 5,840 crore, while Jubilant Bevco’s Rs 3,000 crore offering drew Rs 4,770.84 crore in subscriptions.

According to ET, HDFC Mutual Fund accounted for nearly 37% of the listed and redeemable NCDs, with other key investors including Nippon India Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, and Axis Mutual Fund. Yields on the bonds averaged 8.66% and 8.79%, respectively. Morgan Stanley acted as the lead arranger, supported by Standard Chartered for the Jubilant Beverages tranche.

The ET report noted that both offerings were structured as zero-coupon instruments, each with a tenure of just under three years. Rockfort Fincap’s Venkatakrishnan Srinivasan told the publication that mutual funds’ strong appetite was driven by attractive spreads of 80–85 basis points over government securities, coupled with a surge in system liquidity.

While some investors paid more than par for minimum allocations, resulting in lower effective yields, the proceeds will ultimately help finance Jubilant Bhartia’s Rs 12,650 crore acquisition of HCCB, in collaboration with Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The transaction, cleared by the Competition Commission of India, is expected to see Coca-Cola further reduce its stake after HCCB’s public listing in the next 1–1.5 years.

For the Bhartia family, which also controls the Domino’s Pizza franchise in India, this deal marks their largest acquisition to date. They plan to contribute around Rs 5,000 crore from their own resources, with the rest sourced from private capital providers and an equity infusion by the holding company. The transaction values HCCB at around Rs 31,250 crore.

Aparna Deb

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More

Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More

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