Vedanta’s promoters offload 1.76% stake via BSE bulk deal
₹1,737 crore on Thursday through a bulk deal on the BSE, data show. The stake was sold by Finsider International Co. Ltd, a promoter entity, for a weighted average price of ₹265.14 per share.
This translates to a discount of 5% over Wednesday’s closing price. Vedanta shares closed 4% lower on the BSE on Thursday at ₹268. While exchanges do not disclose the buyer in bulk deals, media reports claimed that it was likely to be GQG Partners.
The latter had picked up significant stakes in Adani group companies. When queried about the identity of the buyer, a Vedanta spokesperson said the company does not comment on market speculation. The stake sale comes just a month after Vedanta’s London-based holding company Vedanta Resources restructured its outstanding bonds to delay its immediate debt burden.
The company made a partial upfront payment and then delayed by 29-52 months the maturity of three of its outstanding bond series—those maturing in January 2024, August 2024 and March 2025—with a principal amount of around $3.2 billion. To make the upfront payment, the company borrowed $1.25 billion from a clutch of lenders. With the debt restructuring, Vedanta Resources has no debt maturities before April 2026, making the purpose of the stake sale unclear.
Sources close to the company have earlier stated in public and private discussions the reluctance of promoters to pare shareholding. Queries on the purpose of the stake sale sent to Vedanta late on Thursday evening remained unanswered. As of December end, promoters held 63.71% stake in the company.
It is expected to have dipped under 62% now. This was the third stake sale by Vedanta promoters in less than a year. Earlier, promoters of Vedanta Ltd trimmed their stake in the
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