IL&FS to get $2.1 bn lifeline, Alvarez & Marsal to come up with revamp plan

An Indian financier that roiled markets by defaulting on debt unveiled details of its restructuring proposal over the weekend, including hiring a firm to turn around the distressed company.

Stockholders endorsed Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.’s plan to raise as much as 150 billion rupees ($2.1 billion) through a non-convertible debt sale, and increase the firm’s borrowing limit by 100 billion rupees to 350 billion rupees, IL&FS said in a filing. The lender also got permission to boost its share capital to enable a rights offering.

Rescuing the firm, which has total debt of $12.6 billion -- 61 percent in the form of loans from financial institutions -- is vital for authorities to stem the risk of default spreading to other lenders in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The latest move will ease investor concerns but doesn’t resolve the matter, according to Jagannadham Thunuguntla, senior vice president at Mumbai-based Centrum Broking Pvt.