S&P downgrades Vedanta Resources over "distressed" bond extension

Debt-laden Vedanta Resources has been downgraded to selective default by S&P Global Ratings, Bloomberg has reported. The downgrade comes close on the firm's deal with creditors to extend the maturities of its three dollar bonds.

S&P's downgrade is the second such downgrade of the company this week.

The miner said had last week reported that its bondholders approved the changes after months of talks to tackle more than $3 billion of bonds maturing in 2024 and 2025. The firm will pay $779 million upfront, with the remaining principal extended by as much as four years, under the deal

“We regard the transaction as distressed under our criteria,” the ratings agency said in a statement on Friday. 

The company also “lowered the issue ratings on the company’s bonds due January 2024, August 2024, and March 2025 to ‘D’ from ‘CC’.”

A heavy debt load amassed due to a string of acquisitions has weighed on the group controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal. Moody's last week downgraded Vedanta Resources' CFR to Caa3 from Caa2 and its senior unsecured bonds to Ca from Caa3. It retained its negative rating outlook. In September last year too, Moody's had cut its rating on Vedanta Resources’ (VRL) senior unsecured bonds, citing elevated risk of debt restructuring over the next few months.

That time it had cut corporate family rating (CFR) of Vedanta Resources to Caa3 from Caa2 and senior unsecured bonds' rating to Caa3 from Caa2.