Tata Motors completes refinancing of $3 bln bridge loan

DETROIT, May 27 (Reuters) - India's Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it has completed refinancing of its $3 billion bridge loan taken to purchase luxury car brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in 2008.

Tata, which had already repaid $1.16 billion last year and raised $840 million through nonconvertible debentures last week, said it has extended the final maturity of the remaining $1 billion by 18 months up to the end of 2010.

"This agreement, along with the earlier repayments and the bond issue last week, completes the refinancing of the bridge finance," Tata said in a statement.

India's top vehicle maker took the $3 billion loan to buy the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford in June 2008 before the credit crunch hit last year.

"This transaction was concluded amidst challenging market conditions in the global credit markets and in the automotive sector," Tata Chief Financial Officer C. Ramakrishnan said.

The company said a total of 21 lenders participated in this agreement, leading to an oversubscription of 47 percent of the extended loan. (Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)