Vedanta to resume corp restructuring by year-end

Over six months after putting on hold its corporate restructuring plan, NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources plans to resume the task, aimed at re-aligning its structure into three commodity-focused verticals, by the year-end.

"Once we have the residual shares of Balco and Hindustan Zinc, and positive response from shareholders, I think we will initiate it (the corporate restructuring) by end of this year," Vedanta Resources Group Chairman Anil Agarwal told PTI in an interview.

As of now, Vedanta's share in Balco is 51 per cent while that in Hindustan Zinc is 64 per cent. The government's shares in the two firms is 49 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively while the balance has been made public.

Asked if the group will go ahead with the restructuring even if market conditions are unfavourable, Agarwal said, "...Yes, absolutely."

"Be the market up or down, there would be no impact because there is no benefit to the promoters to what we are doing," he said.

Vedanta had on September 9 announced simplifying the group structure into three verticals -- copper and zinc-lead, aluminium and energy, and iron ore, for better synergy.

However, within a fortnight it deferred its plan in the wake of developments in the global financial markets and adverse feedback from investors.

Vedanta Resources would most likely stick to the same corporate structure it had proposed earlier after re-alignment. The nitty-gritty of the same would be reworked.

"The primary theme to re-align the business will remain the same. The details would be worked out again," Vedanta Resources Group CFO Tarun Jain said.