India Tata Motors to launch $525mln share sale-sources

MUMBAI, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Tata Motors, India's leading vehicle maker with about two-thirds share in the local market, is likely to launch a $525 million share sale to institutional investors on Friday, two sources with direct knowledge said.

In June, Tata Motors had said it planned to raise about 47 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) through a combination of shares, bonds, debentures and other equity-linked instruments to cut debt and grow its business..

The company, which had net debt of about $4 billion on its books at the end of March 2010, has reduced its debt-to-equity ratio to 2.05 from 4 in March 2009.

Last year, Tata Motors raised about $750 million through the issue of global depository shares and covertible notes, and paid off the entire outstanding debt incurred in its acquisition of the Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) brands from Ford in 2008.

($1=44.5 rupees)

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)

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