Vedanta promoter divests 2.6% stake for Rs 4,184 crore

New Delhi: Vedanta Resources on Wednesday divested a 2.6 percent stake in its Indian mining arm, Vedanta Ltd, for Rs 4,184 crore through an open market transaction.

Finsider International Company Ltd, an affiliate of Vedanta Resources, offloaded shares of Vedanta Ltd through a bulk deal on the BSE. Finsider is one of the promoter entities of Vedanta Ltd.

PSU Watch is now on Whatsapp Channels. Click here to join

According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE, Finsider International Company sold 9,79,45,940 shares or 2.63 percent stake in Vedanta Ltd.

The shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 427.21 apiece, taking the transaction size to Rs 4,184.35 crore.

After the stake sale, the combined shareholding of promoter and promoter group entities of Vedanta has declined to 59.32 percent from 61.95 percent.

Details of the buyers of Vedanta's shares could not be ascertained.

Earlier, Vedanta Resources said it would sell a 2.6 percent stake in its Mumbai-listed mining conglomerate to cut debt and support growth plans.

"Finsider International Company Ltd, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Ltd (VRL), has accepted a proposal from one of its banks yesterday evening to sell 2.6 percent shareholding in Vedanta Limited to a group of reputed institutional investors," a company spokesperson said.

Post the repayments made from money garnered from this transaction, Vedanta Resources would have reduced its debt by over USD 650 million since the beginning of the current fiscal year in April.

Promoter stake in Vedanta Ltd has declined from 69.68 percent in December 2022 to 61.95 percent in March 2024. In February, promoters had sold some stake in a block deal for Rs 2,615 crore.

"This (current stake sale) is in line with the group's commitment to significantly deleverage its balance sheet at both the India and the VRL level and in line with the broader initiative to support its strategic growth plans.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)