New Delhi: Weeks after Vedanta failed to garner the required number of shares for delisting its Indian subsidiary, the board of the company approved an interim dividend of Rs 9.50 per share on Saturday. Vedanta said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, "The Board of Directors of the Company through resolution passed by circulation on Saturday, October 24, 2020 have approved First Interim Dividend of Rs 9.50 per equity share i.e. 950 % on face value of Re. 1/- per share for the Financial Year 2020-21 amounting to Rs 3,500 Crores. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is Saturday, October 31, 2020. The interim dividend will be paid within stipulated timelines as prescribed under law."
The record date for the same is October 31.
On October 10, Vedanta Ltd had announced its voluntary delisting offer to acquire the balance shareholding in Vedanta Ltd and then delist it from the stock exchanges. The total number of shares validly tendered by the public shareholders in the delisting offer was 125.47 crore, which was less than the minimum number of shares required to be accepted by the acquirers in order for the delisting offer to be successful. Accordingly, the promoters could not acquire any shares tendered by the public shareholders in the delisting offer and all the shares tendered were returned to the respective public shareholders.
The promoters of Vedanta had announced the delisting offer earlier in May at Rs 87.5 per share. Subsequently in a special resolution by postal ballot, 93.3 percent of all shareholders and 84.3 percent of public shareholders had approved to delist the shares of Vedanta in June.
According to the rulebook, companies wanting to delist in India are required to offer to buy shares from public shareholders at a 'discovered' price through a reverse book building process. It mandates 90 percent acceptance from all shareholders.
Vedanta is the third company in the last two years to have made an unsuccessful delisting offer after INEOS Styrolution and Linde India.
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