Patanjali Ayurved chief executive Acharya Balkrishna said in an interaction with ET that its acquisition plan for edible oils maker Ruchi Soya was proceeding ‘as per schedule’.
Refuting reports that Patanjali Ayurved was finding it tough to raise fresh loans of Rs 4,000 crore following a downgrade by a ratings agency, he said the downgrade by CARE was based on factors which had no relation to corporate guarantee not being offered by Patanjali.
“Within days of the downgrade, CARE withdrew the ratings and a no-objection certificate was issued by the banks,” he said.
Patanjali has earlier stated it plans to infuse Rs 4,350 crore through a special purpose vehicle in the edible oils maker, which has a debt of close to Rs 12,000 crore.
“Following ongoing issues within CARE, we decided to withdraw the credit rating. Patanjali Consortium Adhigrahan has already secured sanction of Rs 3,200 crore from lenders including SBI, Union Bank, PNB, Allahabad Bank and Syndicate Bank,” he said.
Ruchi Soya will be a separate company and won’t be integrated with Patanjali. Balkrishna also said Patanjali Ayurved’s sales were at a three-year high at Rs 3,562 crore in the first six months of 2019-20, “indicating a noticeable comeback for the company.”
Source: Economic Times