Endeavour’s ex-CEO paid miner $1.35 million settlement after firing
The London-listed company removed Sebastien de Montessus in January amid a probe into an “irregular” payment.
Vedanta Resources Ltd. is looking to partly refinance its high-yield debt as the miner aims to lower its funding costs following a rating upgrade.
Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s company is in talks with banks to gauge investor appetite for refinancing a large part of $3 billion of bonds maturing between 2026 and 2028, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.
Burdened by a heavy debt load amassed due to a string of acquisitions, Vedanta Resources restructured the bonds in January, giving it more time to repay. S&P Global Ratings, which had warned the deal may trigger a selective default, upgraded the company last month, citing sufficient internal resources to meet debt maturities.
“Vedanta Resources’ stable B- credit rating from S&P and improving liquidity could breathe new life into its dollar debt, which trades at double-digit yields,” said Mary Ellen Olson, senior credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Vedanta is seeking to lower the cost on its bonds by as much as 400 basis points to bring it in high single digits, the people said, adding the terms have not been finalized yet. The bonds are currently offering coupons in the range of 9.25-13.875%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
A spokesperson for Vedanta Resources declined to comment.
The miner, which runs operations from zinc to oil and steel in India, is slowly regaining life with commodity cycle turning.
A commitment to reduce debt by $3 billion by fiscal 2028, coupled with a potentially stronger equity base, could help “reduce subordination risks for Vedanta Resources’ bond holders and strengthen credit quality,” according to BI.
(By Saikat Das)
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