Vedanta to exclude base metals business from sweeping demerger
The group said it will consider the base metals business demerger at a later stage.
Vedanta Resources Plc is seeking to increase a planned $2.5 billion loan by $250 million to help it advance a decision to delist its main India unit, according to people familiar with the matter.
The proposed upsizing comes as the London-based mining conglomerate prepares to begin the formal offer, seeking to buy back the shares it doesn’t already own in Vedanta Ltd. The firm won shareholder approval last week to begin the delisting process.
The decision is part of Chairman Anil Agarwal’s plan to simplify his investments across the complex multi-tiered corporate structure. Vedanta has interests in zinc, aluminum and oil and gas, all of which have been buffeted by volatile prices and concern about weak demand for metals and hydrocarbons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new financing proposal would boost the second tranche of the loan to $1 billion, while retaining the first at $1.75 billion, the people said, asking not to be named because the deliberations are private. Both parts of the funding rely on dividends from the mining giant’s Hindustan Zinc Ltd. unit, with the first part relying on existing cash at the unit, and the second on proposed debt sales by Hindustan Zinc, the people said.
A company spokesman declined to comment on the plan, and referred Bloomberg News to a statement Friday that said Vedanta Resources is in the process of arranging the financing for the delisting and expects this to be concluded in coming weeks.
(By Bijou George and Suvashree Ghosh)
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