Mumbai: In a sweeping overhaul of his commodities conglomerate amid a looming $2-billion debt bill, billionaire Anil Agarwal plans to spin off five businesses — aluminium, power, oil & gas, steel & iron ore and copper & zinc — from the Rs 68,000-crore Vedanta into separate listed entities. For every share of Vedanta, shareholders will receive one share of each of the five newly listed companies.
Agarwal hopes the split will fetch higher valuations as the present structure loses attraction among Indian and foreign investors. According to Vedanta, the move would “open multiple doors” as the five separate entities can attract “big ticket investments”, which may help the group reduce liabilities. London-based Vedanta Resources (VRL), which owns 64% of BSE-listed Vedanta, has $1 billion in bonds maturing each in January 2024 and August 2024.
