Vedanta Power Shares List at ₹42 as Demerger Completes

Vedanta Power shares began trading at ₹42 apiece on the National Stock Exchange Wednesday, marking the final step in the conglomerate's plan to split its businesses into separate listed entities. The listing follows a record date of March 20 for the demerger, which Vedanta Ltd first announced in September 2023.

The stock opened at ₹42, against a reference price of ₹41.50 set by the exchange. Volume on the first day was moderate, with roughly 2.3 million shares changing hands in the first hour of trade.

Vedanta Power holds the group's thermal and renewable energy assets, including coal-fired plants in Jharsuguda and a 1,000 MW solar portfolio under development. The demerger is part of a broader restructuring that will eventually spin out Vedanta's aluminium, oil and gas, and steel businesses into their own publicly traded companies.

The parent company, Vedanta Ltd, has said the split will let each unit raise capital independently and attract sector-specific investors. Power-sector funds and yield-oriented investors have been the natural buyers for the new stock, traders said.

Vedanta Ltd shares were flat on the day at ₹445, after a 64% slide over the past 12 months driven by uncertainty around the demerger timeline and a broader selloff in metals. The Supreme Court's recent rejection of Vedanta's bid to halt a resolution plan for its subsidiary had added pressure on the parent stock.

For the power unit, the key near-term catalyst is the ramp-up of the solar portfolio. The company has signed power purchase agreements for 600 MW of the 1,000 MW target, with commissioning expected over the next 12 to 18 months. Coal-fired generation at the Jharsuguda plant has been running at about 75% capacity, in line with industry averages.

HDFC Bank Ltd, with an Alpha Score of 40, and Infosys Ltd, at 57, are among the large-cap names in the financial and technology sectors that have seen institutional flows shift toward the demerger story. The broader market has been mixed, with the Sensex and Nifty rally fading as institutional selling emerged.

Vedanta Power's listing price implies a market capitalisation of roughly ₹8,400 crore, based on the 200 million shares issued. That values the power business at about 8 times its fiscal 2024 EBITDA of ₹1,050 crore, a discount to NTPC's 12 times multiple, reflecting the smaller scale and the execution risk on the renewable pipeline.