Vedanta parent company denies stake sale plans: Report

Vedanta's promoters hold a 61.95% stake in the company, which declined from just under 70%, starting from December 2022.

Vedanta Resources Ltd, the parent company of the Indian listed Vedanta Ltd. has denied reports of any potential sale of stake in its subsidiary, CNBC-TV18 reported.

Vedanta (Representational)

"Vedanta Resources strongly denies any plans to sell a stake in Vedanta Limited," a spokesperson of the parent company told CNBC-TV18 in an official response.

The background

On Friday, the Economic Times had reported that Vedanta promoters are planning to sell up to 2.5% of stake worth over ₹4,000 crore in the Indian listed entity, according to CNBC-TV18.

The report came just a day after Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive interaction that he has no plans to bring his stake further down from where it currently is.

“We have 62% - 61 point something percent of holding of the company and we are comfortable,” Agarwal said. “Any investment banker comes and gives me some idea, we will work on it. (But) at this point of time, there is nothing on the cards to take our holding down below 61.5%.”

As of the last quarter of the financial year 2023-24, Vedanta's promoters held a 61.95% stake in the company. Starting December 2022, the promoter stake in Vedanta has declined from just under 70% to just over 60%, according to the article.

“I think we are very comfortable to address the debt,” Agarwal added. “We have a good cash flow and good dividend that should take care of all the debt payment of VRM.”

The market sentiment

Vedanta shares closed with little price change on Friday at ₹469.30. The stock has risen 82% so far in 2024, making it the best calendar year performance for the stock since 2021 when the stock had doubled in value, according to CNBC-TV18.