Vedanta-Cairn India merger in the offing, say sources

Vedanta (formerly known as Sesa Sterlite) and Cairn India are a step closer to the merger deal, according to sources. Top Vedanta executives including chief financial officer D D Jalan and group director (finance) Tarun Jain will meet three short-listed banks - Bank of America, Standard Chartered and Barclay's - later this week in connection with the merger.

Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal will also take part in the meeting via a conference call from London, a source close to the development told Business Standard . The meeting will be held in new Delhi.

The boards of the two companies will have to approve the deal.

The merger would help Vedanta become a global major and compete with companies such as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

In the year ended March 2015, Vedanta and Cairn India took a hit on their bottom lines due to the impairment charges Cairn had to bear on account of falling oil prices.

For FY15, Cairn India posted net profit of Rs 4,479 crore, down from Rs 12,431 in the previous year. Net sales also dropped to Rs 16,455 crore from Rs 20,264 crore.

Vedanta reported a loss of Rs 15,645 crore in FY15 against a profit of Rs 6,298 in the previous year. Net sales were up at Rs 73,709 crore from Rs 66,152 crore.