Linklaters advises the joint lead managers on the first cross-border securitisation deal out of India

Linklaters advised the joint lead managers on a first of its kind US$300m 144A/Reg S repack senior secured social notes securitisation offering by India Vehicle Finance (IVF), a Mauritius-incorporated special purpose vehicle (SPV), where the proceeds were used to invest in rupee-denominated pass-through certificates issued by an Indian orphan SPV, which in turn used the proceeds to buy a pool of receivables in a true sale from Shriram Finance Limited (Shriram), one of the largest non-banking finance companies by assets under management in India.

This deal had a number of complex features, including:

• a double repack structure;
•  a full cross-currency hedge of the coupon and (amortising) principal payments;
• non-recourse to Shriram (recourse by holders of the notes is limited to the pool of receivables assigned by Shriram by way of a true sale); and
• compliance with various EU, UK and US regulatory requirements, including risk retention requirements.

The joint lead managers on the transaction were Barclays, BNP Paribas, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered Bank.

The Linklaters team was led by Head of India Group Amit Singh and capital markets partner Michele Discepola, in collaboration with the structured finance team led by capital markets partner Victor Wan.

Linklaters’ Head of India Group and Head of Southeast Asia Capital Markets Amit Singh commented:

“We are delighted to have acted on this first of its kind US dollar 144A/Reg S repack structured bond by India Finance Vehicle, which is also the first cross-border securitisation deal out of India. The complex structuring helped the offshore bonds, which are also social bonds, achieve a rating which was close to the Indian sovereign rating. Many congratulations to all.”

Linklaters has a stellar track record in India, supporting international clients and leading Indian corporates on capital markets, corporate, banking and finance and arbitration matters.