UK-based metals major Vedanta Resources came under more pressure as it was revealed on Tuesday that one of its group companies, Balco, is a supplier of refined aluminum to the Indian defence sector. This information is now being used by human rights campaigners to urge investors like the Church of England to divest from Vedanta Resources to keep in line with the church's policy of not investing in companies that are involved in any way in armament production.
The company no longer sees the London listing as necessary to access capital and the deal will simplify Vedanta's corporate structure.
Supreme Court judge Justice K Vinod Chandran on Monday recused from hearing a plea seeking directions to authorities to investigate allegations made by US short seller Viceroy Research that billionaire Anil Agarwal's mining conglomerate was "financially unsustainable" and posing severe risk to creditors.
UK-based Vedanta Resources is looking to start copper production at its Konkola copper mines (KCM) in Zambia and is eyeing to serve global and Indian markets, according to company executives. Promoted by billionaire Anil Agarwal, the miner in November 2023 regained control of the copper mines and smelter, which the Zambian administration had seized in 2019, but needed to pay creditors of the mines to revive operations. The conglomerate was locked in a legal battle over the ownership of the KCM mines prior to a September 2023 Zambia government decision to reinstate the group as owners of the mines.
Mining mogul Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources' credit profile will unlikely be weighed down by the group's planned Rs 1.54 lakh crore foray into semiconductor manufacturing, S&P Global Ratings said on Monday. "This is because the company has reiterated that the $20 billion related investment will be carried out outside of Vedanta Resources. "The business will be undertaken in a separate entity under Vedanta Resources' holding company Volcan Investments Ltd," it said.
Vedanta Ltd on Thursday termed any talks of sale in oil-to-metals conglomerate as "untrue and baseless." This comes in the wake of news report which said that mining mogul Anil Agarwal is contemplating a stake sale in Vedanta as a last-resort option and is examining the possibility of selling less than 5 per cent of the company. According to company's spokesperson, "Any talk of stake sale in Vedanta Ltd is untrue and baseless."
Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Resources (VRL), which has hired Standard Chartered Bank to raise funds for its Konkola copper mine assets, says it is engaging with several potential partners for both short-term funds and long-term equity financing for the Zambian project. A Vedanta official said its commitment to optimising capital allocation and driving expansion is a key cornerstone of its strategy for the mines. It will enhance value creation and operationalise the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
Vedanta investors were jittery on Tuesday as its share price fell and bond yields of its parent firm rose following concerns raised by a rating agency on its capability to repay debt maturing later this year. Shares of the mining and metals major were down by 7 per cent on Tuesday to Rs 268 a piece on the BSE. The company has lost market valuation of 30 per cent in the last one year and 13 per cent since January 1 this year. Yields on the bonds of Vedanta Resources, the parent firm of the BSE-listed Vedanta, shot up to 39.8 per cent - showing investors' rising concern over the group's debt situation
From the Sensex firms, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank were among the laggards. Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement and Power Grid were among the gainers.
Vedanta Ltd on Friday said it has been declared as preferred bidder for a diamond mine in Madhya Pradesh. The company said it is the highest bidder with a final price offer of 1.10 per cent.
CRISIL Ratings on Thursday placed the long-term bank facilities and debt instruments of Vedanta Limited under 'rating watch with negative implications', the agency said in a press statement. CRISIL said the ratings may also be downgraded if Vedanta is not able to bring down its end-of-year financial leverage to below 2.7 times through asset monetisation, which is to be completed by December this year.
Vedanta Limited (Vedanta) helping its parent and group holding company Vedanta Resources to deleverage its balance sheet has started to strain its balance sheet. Vedanta's gross debt (consolidated) was up 24.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY23 and reached a six-year high of Rs 66,628 crore by the end of March. Similarly, its net debt went up 20.3 per cent YoY to Rs 45,706 crore at the end of FY23, up from Rs 38,228 crore a year ago; it was the highest since FY20.
Vedanta Resources has huge interests in India. The promoter and majority shareholder of Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal, also founded Sterlite Industries.
Vedanta's Cairn Oil & Gas on Thursday announced the appointment of Nick Walker as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. In a statement, the company said the appointment is effective January 5. "Before this appointment, Walker was president and chief executive officer at Lundin Energy, one of the leading European independent E&P companies," it said.
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal's conglomerate on Friday announced a major business shake-up, with flagship Vedanta Ltd approving a spin-off of its metals, power, aluminium and oil and gas businesses into separate listed entities and an overhaul of lucrative zinc unit planned as part of value creation and reducing debt load. Vedanta will issue one share of the five demerged businesses for every share held in the company, the firm said in a statement. The entire exercise, which would require shareholder and lender approval as well as a nod from the stock exchanges and courts, is expected to be completed in 12-15 months, its president for finance Ajay Agarwal said.
Vedanta Resources, which was pulled up for its role in the mining scam in India, is under the scanner yet again. This time for making illegal contribution of Rs 28 crore made to political parties in the last 3 years. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Analysts assert that Vedanta Group's plan to demerge India-listed Vedanta Limited into six listed entities will not resolve the debt problem of its promoter entity, Vedanta Resources (VRL). They suggest that additional asset sales or stake sales by promoters will be necessary to repay the debt. Vedanta is already considering the divestment of its iron-steel division and its copper plant.
Brokerages put sell notice on Vedanta shares over the company's move to buy Volcan Investments' stake in Anglo American via subsidiary Cairn India Holdings, reports Aditi Divekar.
The company is accused of overlooking local community's interests.
Cairn Energy Plc's deal to sell a majority stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources for up to $8.48 billion is contingent upon the billionaire Anil Agarwal-led group completing an open offer to minority shareholders of Cairn India, a senior official said.
Indian lenders are unlikely to clear the vertical split of BSE-listed Vedanta Ltd in a hurry, considering that the demerger would reduce the fungibility of cash flows across businesses and increase their volatility, according to analysts. The demerger plan, which would result in six separate listed entities, would require approval from shareholders, lenders and other statutory bodies. "We believe that a separate listing of different businesses would reduce the fungibility of cash flows across businesses and increase the volatility of cash flows.
Vedanta Ltd, which is planning to restart its copper plant in Tamil Nadu, is weighing the option to sell the unit at a valuation of up to Rs 4,500 crore, banking sources have said. The company had sought expressions of interest (EoIs) for the plant in June last year but did not get a good response as the unit was shut for the last five years. "The process has now restarted with the bankers reaching out to potential bidders," said a banker.
Vedanta Resources (VRL), the diversified mining company headquartered in London, is giving final touches to a plan to raise up to $2.5 billion (about Rs 20,800 crore) as debt repayment deadlines near. The company owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal plans to do this by a combination of instruments, including issuing preference shares in the holding company to a slew of offshore investors from West Asia, and taking on another loan to refinance older debt at a higher interest rate. VRL, which is the group's holding company, is also looking to sell part of its 63.71 per cent stake in the Indian listed subsidiary Vedanta Ltd to meet funding requirements, said a banker close to the development.
Beating rivals like China Metallurgical and Xstrata, Vedanta Resources on Monday said it has finalised a deal with the London-based Anglo American's entire zinc business in Ireland and Africa for $1.34 billion deal.
Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal on Saturday pressed for further liberalisation of the defence sector and called for corporatisation of defence factories to make the country self reliant in respect of arms and ammunition. There are 52 defence factories for manufacturing arms and ammunition in the country but most of them are running at 10 per cent capacity, he said. "We (India) can be the largest producer of arms and ammunition. "If the defence factories are corporatised it will bring in a new way of thinking," Agarwal said while addressing the inauguration of a post graduate programme for executives virtually from London.
e metal and mining group is also hopeful of taking forward the process to buy government's residual stake in another erstwhile PSU Hindustan Zinc Ltd.
The CreditWatch action follows Vedanta's announcement that it would acquire a controlling stake in India-based oil and gas company Cairn India Ltd.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Tuesday approved the open offer of Vedanta Resources for Sesa Goa.
Vedanta Resources, a global metal and mining company led by Non-Resident Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, is looking to rationalise its workforce and reduce overall costs by 30 per cent to tide over the global economic downturn.
With a robust outlook for mineral-led growth in India, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Limited is looking to invest up to $20 billion across its businesses, which includes doubling of silver production and steel capacities. In a virtual press conference had last month, Agarwal said the company planned a capex of $5 billion over a period of three years. The company has not given a timeline for $20-billion investment.
An increased brand fee paid by India-listed Vedanta, apart from record dividend, has helped Vedanta Resources (VRL) - the London-based holding company of Vedanta Group - to repay part of its debt. Vedanta paid a brand fee of Rs 2,632 crore ($325 million) for 2022-23 (FY23), according to Nomura report. This was after the Anil Agarwal-owned holding company raised the brand fee to 2 per cent of the turnover for its Indian businesses in 2021.
Billionaire Anil Agarwal's mining group Vedanta on Monday said it has withdrawn cases in the Delhi high court as well as before an international arbitration tribunal to settle a Rs 20,495 crore retrospective tax dispute with the government. Post slapping of a Rs 10,247 crore tax demand on UK's Cairn Energy Plc for alleged capital gains made on a 2016 internal reorganisation prior to the listing of its India business, the Income Tax Department had sought Rs 20,495 crore in taxes (including penalty) from Cairn India for failing to deduct tax on capital gains made by its British parent. Cairn India was in 2011 bought by Agarwal's group and subsequently, the firm was merged with Vedanta Ltd.
'Youngsters in India look up to the West as if it is the biggest accomplishment they need in life. It breaks my heart.'
ONGC, which is a 30 per cent partner with Cairn India in the giant Rajasthan oil field, had claimed that it had preemption or right of first refusal in Cairn India assets, like the Rajasthan block.
The Finance Ministry on Monday said Cairn Energy Plc is likely to pay close to $1 billion as capital gains tax on the $8.48 billion it expects to get from selling majority stake in its India arm to Vedanta Resources.
'We have created massive infrastructure in the past six years.'