Mumbai: The promoters of mining major Vedanta have mandated US broking house JP Morgan to buy up to 18.5 crore shares, or almost 5% of the company, from the stock market at a price band of Rs 150-160, aggregating up to Rs 2,960 crore. The offer comes within three months of a failed attempt by its promoters, headed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, to take the company private by buying out all the public shareholders through a buyback offer.
According to the term sheet of the deal, Vedanta Holdings Mauritius has mandated JP Morgan to buy up to 18.5 crore shares of Vedanta from the Indian market at a maximum per share price of Rs 160. The offer size is up to 4.98% of the company’s equity capital, while the price — at the higher end of the price band — is at a 6.3% premium to the stock’s Wednesday close on BSE.
According to market players, after the failed attempt to take the company public, the promoters are now resorting to a creeping acquisition to hike their stake in the company. As of September end, the promoters had a 50.1% stake in the company, while the balance 49.5% was held by public shareholders and about 0.4% by others.
