Vedanta Resources shareholders approve Cairn India merger
BY PTI7 Sep 2016 12:40 AM GMT
PTI7 Sep 2016 12:40 AM GMT
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources on Tuesday said its shareholders have approved the merger of group firms Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India. “Vedanta Resources announces that at its General Meeting held today, September 6, the resolution put to shareholders in relation to the proposed merger of Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India was duly passed on a poll,” it said in a regulatory filing. The development brings the firm led by billionaire Anil Agarwal a step closer to salvage merger of the cash-rich oil firm with its debt-laden parent Vedanta Ltd. However, the real test for Agarwal is on September 12, when Cairn India has called a shareholders’ meeting to seek approval for the company’s takeover by its parent under a revised all-share deal. That apart, Vedanta Ltd will also hold a meeting of its shareholders, secured and unsecured creditors on September 8 to seek their approval for the merger of Cairn India.
To save the deal, the Agarwal-led group in July sweetened the deal by offering three additional preference shares in hope of winning over minority shareholders like LIC. Through the merger, Agarwal is looking to create India’s largest diversified natural resources firm, which could compete with BHP Billiton and Vale SA. In the revised offer, Vedanta will give minority shareholders of Cairn India one equity share and four redeemable-preference shares with a face value of Rs 10 each.
The preference shares will carry a coupon of 7.5 per cent and tenure of 18 months. Vedanta is said to be wanting to use Rs 23,290 crore cash lying with Cairn to pay off part of its Rs 77,952 crore debt. It had in May rolled over a controversial $1.25-billion loan taken from Cairn India in July 2014.
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