Mumbai: Debt-strapped infrastructure developer GMR Group plans to raise $350 million (around Rs.2,100 crore) by selling bonds to foreign investors and will use the money to refinance the debt of its subsidiary Delhi International Airport Ltd, or DIAL, a top company executive said.

GMR’s plan comes even as several companies are taking the overseas bonds route to raise money, and their success is a sign that investor appetite for Indian paper has returned.

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (Tidco), the government agency working on identifying and promoting establishment of large and medium scale industries in the state, is in the process of procuring and alloting land for two major special economic zone projects - one by GMR Infrastructure Ltd and another by the GVK Group.

G M Rao, chairman of the publicly-held GMR Infrastructure, plans to increase his stake in the company by about five per cent through the subscription of 180 million warrants for which he will pay about Rs 600 crore over an 18-month period. As and when the shareholders approve the warrant issue to GMR Infra Venture LLP - a promoter entity of which the ultimate beneficiary will be G M Rao - GMR Infra Ventures will be paying 25 per cent of the Rs 600 crore upfront.

GMR Infra, a publicly held firm that manages the Delhi international airport, is set to kickstart the second phase of monetisation of its 230-acre land parcel near the airport. The price it might get for its land is estimated to tip over Rs 100 crore per acre and go in the range of Rs 105-110 crore an acre.

In the first phase of monetisation in 2009, GMR had sold 45 acres of the parcel at Rs 75-90 crore an acre to various hospitality majors. This time, it could try to get approvals for also selling to other players besides hospitality ones.

Aggressive attempts by GMR Infrastructure Ltd to trim debt, lower the debt-to-equity ratio and boost cash flows from the business are sustaining investor interest in the stock.

Last week, the private sector infrastructure company raised about $200 million through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) and $100 million of preferential warrants to promoters. Some brokerages say that the move will help prune corporate debt by around Rs.3,500 crore.

Promoters of GMR Infrastructure, led by Chairman G M Rao, are planning to increase their stake in the company by infusing Rs 600 crore through warrants.

The GMR Infrastructure board on Wednesday approved a proposal to issue up to 180 million warrants, entitling up to 18 million shares, under preferential allotment to promoters.

GMR Infra, the Bangalore-headquartered publicly-held infrastructure developer whose agreement for upgrading and managing the Male international airport was unilaterally terminated by the Maldives government, has won the first leg of an arbitration process in the matter.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests has turned down a request by the GMR Group to extend the validity for preparing the terms of reference for a hydel power project being set up in Arunachal Pradesh.

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