unit is said to be in talkswith banks to restructure about US$5.3 billion of loans maturing in 2017, BloombergNews reported April 6, citing "three people familiar with the matter."

Initially,Novelis is looking to refinance up to US$3.5 billion of outstanding debt with anaverage term of about seven years.

A spokeswomanfor Aditya Birla Group, which controls the Atlanta-based producer of rolled aluminumproducts, declined to comment on the discussions.

Accordingto the report, Hindalco acquired Novelis in 2007 in exchange for over US$3.4 billionin cash and assumed US$2.4 billion of debt.