India's Sun Pharma plans $1 billion local debt sale for loan takeout, sources say

By Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries SUN.NS is planning to raise around 100 billion rupees ($1.04 billion) via a rupee-denominated debt sale to partly fund a bridge loan it took to acquire US healthcare firm Organon & Co., three sources said on Tuesday.

Bridge loans are typically short-term loans taken before acquisitions to provide financing for the deal, which can later be replaced with more permanent funding via bonds or loans.

The country's largest drugmaker by market capitalisation closed a syndication of a near-$12 billion, 18-month bridge loan earlier this year for Organon's acquisition. The syndication also included State Bank of India, the country's largest lender by assets, the sources said.

The sources requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media. Sun Pharma did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Bankers expect total domestic corporate debt issuances this year to hit a record as higher US yields make dollar funding costlier, pushing companies to explore funding within the domestic market, one of the sources said.

The 10-year US yield is hovering at its highest level since mid-June 2007, which has put pressure on global borrowing costs.

Sun Pharma will sell shorter-duration bonds with maturities of two, three and four years, the sources said.

The move comes as Indian companies have been trying to lock in borrowing costs ahead of a potential rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India, with about $3 billion worth of rupee debt issuances lined up over the next few days.

($1 = 95.9700 Indian rupees)