INDIAN resources conglomerate Vedanta will be broken up into five separately listed companies early next month, said the Financial Times.
Citing Vedanta founder and chair Anil Agarwal the newspaper said the split capped a restructuring effort that has taken several years to complete.
Agarwal said the new entities — covering aluminium, zinc, oil and gas, steel and power — would each have greater freedom to pursue growth as independent businesses. He forecast the combined market capitalisation of the five units would far exceed the group’s current $27bn valuation. “People are saying that, comfortably, it should double,” he said.
Vedanta, which has an enterprise value of $37bn and is among India’s largest resources businesses, has long carried a heavy debt burden, currently estimated at $11bn, said the Financial Times. The five new entities will collectively hold around $7bn in debt, Agarwal said, with a private holding company he controls retaining roughly half the shares in each.
The restructuring overcame a legal challenge from the Indian government late last year, clearing the path for the split to proceed.
Agarwal also used the announcement to call on India to expand domestic oil and gas output, citing the country’s dependence on imports — which account for more than 80% of crude and refined products — as a strategic weakness amid energy price volatility stemming from the war in Iran.
Vedanta’s share price remains near a record high reached in January.
