Refusing to be cowed by pressure being brought on him, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy on Friday said the decision for mining group Vedanta Resources' $9.6 billion buyout of Cairn India will be taken by the Cabinet without "sacrificing" on national interest.
Given the serious allegations against the firm, did these members of the board fail in their duty to safeguard the interests of stakeholders?
Oil Ministry is referring the deal to the Cabinet for approval after a standoff between Cairn and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation over the state-owned firm's liability to pay royalty in excess of its 30 per cent share in Cairn's mainstay Rajasthan oilfields.
Cairn Energy Plc chief executive Bill Gammell described the 30-minute meeting as 'positive and constructive'.
In a big blow to Vedanta Resources, the government on Tuesday rejected environment clearance to its $1.7-billion bauxite mining project in Orissa after accepting recommendations of its key panel clearing such ventures.
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 Environment and Forests Ministry was in news throughout 2010 -- be it for Vedanta Resources, Posco and Lavasa -- or for Jairam Ramesh's aggressive green activism.
State-owned aluminium maker Nalco may show interest in developing mines in Afghanistan, which is expected to invite global bids soon for exploration of mineral deposits estimated to be worth $1 trillion.
Cairn Energy, which owns a 52.11 per cent stake in Cairn India, "has voted to accept (government) conditions", the company said.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is unlikely to clear Vedanta Resources and Sesa Goa's open offer to the shareholders of Cairn India till the government approves the Cairn-Vedanta deal, according to officials familiar with the matter.
The Petroleum Ministry may have watered down its preconditions for approving mining group Vedanta Resources' acquisition of Cairn India, but the $9.6 billion deal will still hinges on no-objection from partner ONGC.
More than three weeks after it announced the sale of a majority stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources, UK's Cairn Energy Plc has formally applied to the government for approvals, saying it will meet all contractual requirements needed to fructify the deal.
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources has completed the purchase of a 10 per cent stake in Cairn India from Cairn Energy, taking its total stake in the company to 28.5 per cent.
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Cairn India said the company board has accepted Elango's resignation.
ONGC's return on investment becomes positive after govt makes Barmer block royalty cost-recoverable.
Even though Vedanta Resource's proposal to mine bauxite at the sacred mountain in Orissa's Kalahandi district is rejected, for thousands of tribals like Laksa Majhi, who for countless generations have lived in the shadow of Niyamgiri, the insecurities persist.
Though the Prime Minister's Office had earlier this month asked the ministry to decide on giving approvals to the $9.6-billion acquisition on merit, the Oil Ministry has slipped in 11 pre-conditions that are unlikely to be accepted by the London-listed firm.
Campaigners from Hamburg-based (Germany) think-tank World Future Council, along with British charity ActionAid, protested against the Church of England and Middlesbrough Borough Council on Monday for investing their pension funds in UK-based metals and mining company Vedanta Resources Plc (with an $8-billion group turnover), whose reputation for trampling human rights and alleged unclean mining practices has been questioned before.
No period in the recent history of Indian oil and gas sector will perhaps leave its long- lasting imprint than 2010 that saw the unfolding of two events that could shape the future of this fast growing sphere.
Company will also launch a global road show from May 23 for the bond placement.
After months of dithering, UK's Cairn Energy on November 25 applied for government nod to transfer control in its three producing assets, including the prolific Rajasthan fields to Vedanta Resources.
The Edinburgh-based firm's current application seeking the nod for sale of 40 to 51 per cent in Cairn India, for up to $8.48 billion, has left out three producing properties, including the giant Rajasthan oilfields.
Vedanta Aluminium is sourcing half of its bauxite requirement from Bharat Aluminium Company's mines.
A day after the government referred its $9.6 billion deal to a panel of ministers; UK's Cairn Energy Plc on Thursday said it has extended the deadline for completion of the sale of a majority stake in its Indian unit to Vedanta Resources by over a month to May 20.
More than three months after announcing the sale of its up to 51 per cent stake in the Indian unit to Vedanta, Cairn Energy Plc on November 23 last year had made a conditional application to seek government's nod but refused to accept partner ONGC's rights.
The $9.6-billion deal is contingent upon government nod as the deal involves change of ownership of strategic assets like the giant Rajasthan oilfields.
Whereas, the group is offering Cairn India's parent Cairn Energy Rs 405 a share, which includes a fee for not competing with it in India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan for the next three years.
Mining major Vedanta Resources on Thursday said its investment in India would come down by up to $2 billion (nearly Rs 9,000 crore) in the next two years as expansion plans are put on hold after the group has been denied permission to mine bauxite in Orissa's Niyamgiri hills.
According to the Asian Rich List 2010, brought out by Eastern Eye, a publication of the Asian Media & Marketing Group, 59-year-old Mittal is followed by the Hinduja brothers -- Srichand and Gopichand -- with estimated wealth of 8 billion pounds, Anil Agarwal of mining group Vedanta Resources with 4 billion pounds, Sir Anwar Pervez of Bestways with 715 million pounds and industrialist Swraj Paul of Caparo with 510 million pounds.
According to a senior Vedanta executive, the supply of bauxite from Gujarat should start this week. The Orissa alumina project needs about 3 million tonnes of bauxite to run at full capacity.
The government has written to market regulator SEBI saying Cairn Energy Plc's deal to sell majority stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources does not yet have its approval, a condition contingent for the $8.48 billion deal to consummate.
London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources is running against time to close a USD 9.6 billion deal to acquire majority stake in Cairn India as government approval for the transaction is held up due to issues raised by state-owned ONGC.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Monday said UK's Cairn Energy Plc cannot sell a majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources without its consent.
With Cairn Energy Plc voluntarily offering to meet government conditions, the Oil Ministry may find it difficult to nix its deal to sell majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources.
Leading mining group Vedanta Resources has been stripped of international safety awards amid claims that it won the prize without declaring that a chimney collapse at one of its sites had killed at least 40 workers last year, according to a media report.
UK's Cairn Energy has informed Oil Ministry that it will comply with all contractual obligations in selling majority stake in its Indian arm and that London-listed Vedanta Resources was a fit candidate to take over operations.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to restrain Vedanta Resources' subsidiary Sesa Goa from launching an open offer to buy 20 per cent stake in Cairn India.
The Essar group is exploring the option of an $8-billion listing on the London Stock Exchange, potentially making it the first Indian company to enter LSE since Vedanta Resources seven years ago.
The UK-based Cairn Energy on Tuesday said it will seek government's "endorsement" and necessary consent for selling its majority stake in Cairn India to London-listed Vedanta Resources for $8.48 billion.
A day after agreeing to sell majority stake in its India subsidiary for $8.48 billion, UK's Cairn Energy Plc top management on Tuesday met Oil Minister Murli Deora and other key officials to clear any regulatory roadblocks to the deal with Vedanta Resources.
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