Vedanta promoters offload 1.76% stake via bulk deal

Promoters of mining and resources major Vedanta Ltd offloaded 1.76% stake in the company for ₹1,737 crore on Thursday through a bulk deal on BSE, data show.  

The stake was sold by Finsider International Co. Ltd, a promoter entity, for a weighted average price of ₹265.14 per share. This translates to a discount of 5% over Wednesday’s closing price.  

Vedanta shares closed 4% lower on BSE on Thursday at ₹268 apiece.  

The exchanges did not disclose the buyer in the bulk deals. Queried about the identity of the buyer, a Vedanta spokesperson said the company does not comment on market speculation. Queries on the purpose of the stake sale remained unanswered.  

The stake sale comes a month after Vedanta’s London-based holding company, Vedanta Resources, restructured its outstanding bonds to delay its immediate debt burden. 

The company made a partial upfront payment and then delayed by 29-52 months the maturity of three of its outstanding bond series—those maturing in January 2024, August 2024 and March 2025—with a principal amount of around $3.2 billion. 

To make the upfront payment, the company borrowed $1.25 billion from a clutch of lenders.

With the debt restructuring, Vedanta Resources has no debt maturities before April 2026, making the purpose of the stake sale unclear. 

People familiar with the company’s plans have earlier stated in public and private discussions the reluctance of the promoters to pare shareholding.  

As of December end, promoters held 63.71% stake in the company. It is expected to have dipped to under 62% now.  

This was the third stake sale by Vedanta promoters in less than a year. Last year, promoters of Vedanta Ltd trimmed their stake in the company by 1.58% in March and by 4.4% in August.  

The promoters had held as much as 69.69% at the end of December 2022.