Zee Media Bureau
Shares of Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India Ltd rose on Monday after Vedanta offered to buy out minorities in cash-rich oil unit Cairn India in a USD 2.3 billion deal.
Vedanta and Cairn India shares gained about 0.8 percent each.
In move to cut debt at Anil Agarwal group, India's largest private miner Vedanta Ltd will absorb oil firm Cairn India in a USD 2.3 billion all-share deal to create India's largest diversified natural resources company.
Shareholders in Cairn India, the country's top private oil producer, will get one ordinary share and 7.5 percent redeemable preference share of Vedanta Ltd with a face value of Rs 10.
That implies a premium of 7.3 percent to Cairn's Friday closing price.
Vedanta will use Rs 16,867 crore cash lying with Cairn to pay off part of its Rs 77,752 crore debt.
Post-merger, London-listed parent Vedanta Resources Plc's holding in Vedanta Ltd will drop to 50.1 percent from 62.9 percent.
Vedanta, previously known as Sesa Sterlite Ltd, in 2013 consolidated its iron ore mining business by merging Sesa Goa Ltd with Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, which ran copper and aluminium businesses.
The merger will help Cairn spread its risk from volatile oil business to other metals and commodities.
The move needs approval of 50 percent of minority shareholders of Cairn India, including its former parent Cairn Energy, which owns 9.8 percent of total shares, and state-run insurance company LIC, which owns another 9 percent.
With Agency Inputs
