Vedanta Group, in a statement, said that Finsider International Company, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, accepted a proposal from one of its banks Tuesday evening to sell 2.6% shares holding in Vedanta Ltd to a group of reputed institutional investors.
“This is in line with Group’s commitment to significantly deleverage its balance sheet at both the India and the VRL level and in line with broader initiatives to support its strategic growth plans,” said the statement.
AgenciesLast Friday, a Vedanta Resources spokesperson, in an email response to ET’s queries, “strongly denied any plans to sell a stake in Vedanta.”
Agarwal has been seeking to slash the group’s debt burden. London-listed Vedanta Resources reduced its net debt to $6 billion in FY24 from $9.7 billion in FY22. The company aims to cut it to $3 billion over the next three years. Vedanta Resources has long-term debt maturities of $900 million in FY25 and another $900 in FY26.Vedanta Resources held a 61.95% stake in India-listed Vedanta Ltd as of March 31 through six subsidiaries. In February, Finsider International sold more than 65.5 million Vedanta Ltd shares for ₹1,700 crore.Consolidated net debt at the Vedanta Group (comprising Vedanta Resources, Vedanta Ltd, Hindustan Zinc) was $12.35 billion as of March 31. Of this, 49% was rupee-denominated and the balance was in foreign currency, the company informed its bondholders in a recent investor presentation.Earlier this month, the Vedanta Group unveiled a strategic roadmap to achieve an operating profit of $10 billion, with timely execution of 50-plus projects across various business verticals.