Ispat moves lenders for another CDR package

Hit hard by a slowdown in demand, Ispat Industries has approached its lenders for a second corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package. India’s fourth-largest steelmaker, owes around Rs 6,000 crore to various financial institutions. According to a person familiar with the development, Mumbai-based Ispat has asked for a reduction in its existing interest rate and an extension of the payment schedule to pay back its dues to various lenders, including IDBI Bank. Currently, the average interest rate for Ispat’s loans is learnt to be between 11% and 14%. This is the second time that Ispat has asked for a corporate debt restructuring package, the first in post-2001, when a severe depression in the steel market affected all Indian steelmakers’ debt servicing abilities.