BackVedanta's aluminum, steel, oil businesses may be listed separately; demerger announcement soon: Report
Vedanta Ltd, owned by Anil Agarwal, may list its businesses separately on the stock market to manage its debt.
PremiumBusiness tycoon Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd is nearing a deal under which the businesses of the companies could be listed separately on the stock market, according to a report by the Bloomberg news agency. The company has informed its lenders of the restructuring and could announce the plans in the coming days.
As per the report, Vedanta's businesses including aluminum, oil and gas, iron ore, and steel will be separately listed. The move could help tycoon Agarwal manage his metals-to-energy empire’s debt load.
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Citing sources, the news agency stated that Vedanta Ltd.’s parent, Vedanta Resources, will remain the holding company. However, deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions on the structure or timing of the de-merger have been made. 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.
Yesterday, shares Vedanta Ltd fell nearly 7% after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the rating of its parent firm Vedanta Resources Ltd.
Moody's downgraded the rating of Vedanta Resources because of the elevated risk of debt restructuring over the next few months.
Also read: Vedanta shares hit 52-week low despite ₹2500 crore fund raise move
The rating agency downgraded the rating of VRL to Caa2 from Caa1.
At the same time, Moody's has maintained a negative outlook.
Shares in Vedanta Ltd. have fallen by more than a fifth over the past 12 months, giving the company a market value of about ₹77,670 crore.
Also read: Moody's downgrades Vedanta Resources' corporate family rating to Caa2
VRL's credit quality is constrained by its weak liquidity because of large refinancing needs and interest expenses amid tightening financing conditions in global capital markets, the agency noted.
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, a unit of Vedanta Ltd, to buy some of the parent's zinc assets in a $2.98 billion deal.
However, Central government, which owns nearly 30% stake in Hindustan Zinc, opposed the move.
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