OilMin refers Cairn India sale to Sebi

The petroleum ministry has referred the Vedanta Resources acquisition of Cairn Energy to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Petroleum Minister Murli Deora told reporters here today that his ministry would take a final decision on the deal in four to six weeks.

Sources familiar with the developments said the market regulator could seek more details on the deal. The regulator is also likely to verify state-owned ONGC’s claims on the assets of Cairn India. Recently, there were reports that ONGC had written to both the BSE and NSE, stating that the Vedanta-Cairn deal could not go ahead without its consent.

According to people familiar with the development, investment bankers managing the open offer on behalf of Vedanta would be told to make the additional disclosures as part of the public announcement. JM Financial is the sole manager for the offer on behalf of THL Aluminum Ltd and Vedanta Resources Plc, along with Sesa Goa, being a person acting in concert.

Meanwhile, Deora said the ministry had received all relevant papers from Cairn Energy. Vedanta, which is listed in London, plans to buy 40-51 per cent in Cairn India from Cairn Energy and up to 20 per cent from the open market, in a deal worth $9.6 billion.