Exchange date of American Depositary Shares extended till Jan 10: Vedanta

Vedanta Ltd on Monday said it has decided to extend the date by which holders can surrender their American Depositary Shares to the depositary in exchange for the underlying equity shares of the company from December 8 to January 10 next year.

Holders of American Depositary Shares (ADS) can now surrender their ADSs at any time on or prior to January 10, 2022, Vedanta said.

"In order to provide more time to the ADS holders, the Company has decided to extend the date...," it said in a filing.

Starting on or about January 11, 2022, the depositary may attempt to sell the then-remaining shares held on deposit upon the terms described in the notice of termination of ADS program as provided for in the deposit agreement, it added.

Vedanta had previously announced that the deposit agreement under which its ADSs were issued was terminated effective close of trading on NYSE on November 8, 2021.

Under the terms of the deposit agreement, holders of company's ADSs can surrender their American depositary shares to the depositary in exchange for the underlying equity shares of the company.

This requires that holders who surrender their ADSs for cancellation must have, or establish, a custodian or brokerage (demat) account in India to receive such equity shares prior to surrendering their ADSs to Citibank, N.A. for cancellation.

Establishing such custodian or brokerage (demat) account may be subject to delay as a result of operational procedures and as the opening of such account may be subject to regulatory approvals in India.

"...since ADSs have been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange effective close of trading on November 8, 2021, no over-the-counter market trading of ADSs is permitted under Indian law," it said.