A man walks past the logo of Vedanta outside its headquarters in Mumbai, India January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Sept 27 (Reuters) – India’s Vedanta Ltd (VDAN.NS) is nearing a deal to spin off its businesses into several listed entities as part of a broader restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company has informed its lenders of the restructuring and could announce the plans in the coming days, the report said, adding that businesses including aluminum, oil and gas, iron and steel will be listed as separate entities.
The move to demerge could help Vedanta’s parent, Vedanta Resources, to manage its debt load, according to Bloomberg’s report, which added that Vedanta Resources will remain the holding company for the new units.
Vedanta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report outside business hours.
Vedanta’s Chairman Anil Agarwal said last month that the company will consider separately listing all or some of its businesses, which range from metals and mining to oil and gas.
The plans stand in contrast to Agarwal’s attempts in 2020 to delist Vedanta Ltd to expedite the process of simplifying its corporate structure, which failed.
Vedanta Resources has been scrambling to raise funds due to rating downgrades and concerns about meeting debt obligations.
Earlier this year, Agarwal sought to trim down the group’s $7.7-billion debt by getting Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZNC.NS)
a unit of Vedanta Ltd, to buy some of the parent’s zinc assets in a $2.98 billion deal.
However, the Indian government, which owns nearly 30% stake in Hindustan Zinc, opposed the move.
Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal
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