'Untrue And Baseless': Vedanta Ltd Denies Report Of Anil Agarwal Selling Stake

Anil Agarwal-led mining and mineral major Vedanta Resources Ltd owns about 70 per cent of Vedanta Ltd. The company has been trying to regain investor confidence, amid reports of a high debt load

Vedanta Ltd on Thursday denied reports about Anil Agarwal selling his stake in Vedanta calling it “untrue and baseless.” Earlier today, Bloomberg reported that Anil Agarwal is looking at options including selling a minority stake in Vedanta Ltd. to reduce debt load. 

A Vedanta spokesperson told the news agency Reuters that "any talk of stake sale in Vedanta Ltd is untrue and baseless."

Anil Agarwal-led mining and mineral major Vedanta Resources Ltd owns about 70 per cent of Vedanta Ltd. The company has been trying to regain investor confidence, amid reports of a high debt load. In an exchange filing in February, the company said it has reduced its net debt by $2 billion in the current financial year and plans to continue reducing its debt load over the next two financial years, from a starting point of $7.7 billion.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Bloomberg report said that Agarwal is evaluating the possibility of divesting less than 5 per cent of Vedanta Ltd. A stake sale in Vedanta is “last resort” and will only be considered if other options fail, the report added. It had earlier reported that  Vedanta Resources Ltd has been in talks with at least three banks for a $1 billion loan. 

Last week, Vedanta Resources repaid $250 million in loans to Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The company had stated that it has sufficient resources to meet debt repayment obligations in the upcoming quarters. Vedanta Resources repaid $150 million borrowed from Barclays Bank.

On Tuesday, Vedanta Resources-owned Hindustan Zinc, in an exchange filing announced its fourth interim dividend for FY23. The company said it will offer a dividend of Rs 26 per share, totaling Rs 10,986 crore. This is in addition to the Rs 13 per share dividend it announced in January, Rs 15.50 per share dividend it paid in November, and Rs 21 interim dividend it went for in July last year. With this dividend, Hindustan Zinc has announced Rs 75.50 per share dividend in FY23 so far.

Vedanta Ltd., which owns about 65 per cent of Hindustan Zinc, and the central government, which holds around 30 per cent will be beneficiaries of these dividends. The dividends announced would help Vedanta earn Rs 7,132 crore in dividend payout on 2,74,31,54,310 shares it held in the company as of December-end.

The Vedanta Group in January agreed to sell its zinc manufacturing firm to Hindustan Zinc for $2.98 billion in phases over 18 months. The government had strongly opposed the deal.