India: Nirma raises US$598m to finance Lafarge acquisition

Nirma Group, which in July won the race to buy Lafarge India for a reported US$1.4bn, has raised INR40bn (US$598m) from a bond sale to finance the purchase, the Economic Times reports.

Nirma has created a special purpose vehicle, Nirchem, which administered the bond sale and will be used in the acquisition process.

The sale, the largest of its type, was oversubscribed, with investors attracted by the 8.68 per cent yield, seen a decent price given Nirma’s AA credit rating.