Anil Agarwal weighs merger of holding company with cash-rich India unit

The businessman has held preliminary discussions with prospective advisers about the idea of combining Vedanta Resources Ltd. with Vedanta Ltd.

Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal is considering a potential merger of his commodity empire’s indebted holding company with cash-rich listed unit Vedanta Ltd., people familiar with the matter said. 

The tycoon has held preliminary discussions with prospective advisers about the idea of combining his closely-held Vedanta Resources Ltd. with Mumbai-traded Vedanta Ltd., the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. 

The potential deal follows a global commodities boom that’s fueled a rally in Vedanta Ltd. shares and almost doubled its market capitalization in the past year to about $17 billion. Deliberations are still at an early stage, and there’s no