HCL America approves $500 mn fundraise via unsecured notes

HCL America, the US subsidiary of information technology (IT) services giant HCL Technologies, has approved a proposal to raise $500 million by allotment of fixed rate senior unsecured notes.

The funds will be utilised for refinancing the existing debts and for general corporate purposes of its India businesses as well as affiliates outside the country, HCL said in a statement.

The notes are backed by a corporate guarantee of the company and are proposed to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The guarantee is subject to the aggregate liability of the company not exceeding $525 million or 105% of the principal amount of the notes.

The proposal was approved by the board of directors of the company on February 25, 2021.

The development comes just weeks after Dubai headquartered information technology (IT) solutions provider Gibraltar Technologies bought HCL Infotech, a unit of HCL Group, for Rs 147 crores or 74.6 million dirhams (about $20 million).

HCL Technologies reported a 34.8% growth in profit in the third quarter ended December 2020, a period when the company signed 13 new transformational deals. Its profit attributable to shareholders rose to Rs 3,969 crore, or Rs 14.63 per share in the reported quarter, from Rs 2,944 crore, or Rs 10.85 per share, a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose 6.4% to Rs 19,302 crore.

HCL expects revenue to grow between 2% and 3% sequentially on a constant currency basis, in the fourth quarter ending March 2021, a period that will include the revenue contribution from its recent acquisition of Australian IT solutions firm DWS.

For the calendar year 2020, HCL Tech’s revenue stood at $10.02 billion, up 3.6% year-on-year in the US and constant currency terms. Meanwhile, its net profit witnessed a YoY increase of 19.8% to $1.78 billion.  

Early this month, the Noida based IT services exporter announced a special bonus for its employees in recognition of its recent milestone of hitting $10 billion in revenue for the calendar year 2020. The bonus, worth more than Rs 700 crore, will benefit its employees across 50 countries. 

 The company also recently announced a plan to hire 1,000 freshers and experienced professionals for its two-year-old campus in Nagpur.