Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal mulls listing Vedanta businesses separately

INDIA’S Vedanta will consider separately listing all or some of its businesses, which range from metals and mining to oil and gas and potentially chipmaking, billionaire Anil Agarwal said on Friday (Aug 25).

“I have asked all my advisers and my people, can we have all products (businesses that Vedanta operates) or some products to be independent,” Agarwal said in a video message posted on YouTube.

“If you have one share of Vedanta Ltd, you will have many shares of other companies and people will have an opportunity to invest in different areas. Some international companies want to invest in a particular area, they will get that opportunity.”

Agarwal said he will seek shareholders’ views on the proposal, and the reorganisation could see better returns and dividends for investors.

The plans stand in contrast to Agarwal’s attempts in 2020 to delist Vedanta to expedite the process of simplifying its corporate structure, which failed.

Vedanta’s parent, Vedanta Resources, has been scrambling to raise funds, with credit rating agencies downgrading its outlook, citing funding risks and concerns about meeting debt obligations.

Earlier this year, Agarwal sought to trim down the group’s US$7.7 billion debt by getting Hindustan Zinc, a unit of Vedanta, to buy some of the parent’s zinc assets in a US$3 billion deal.

However, the Indian government, which owns nearly a 30 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc, opposed the move.

Vedanta had in June also initiated a strategic review of its steel and steel raw materials businesses, as the group eyed money from its units to tackle its debt burden.

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