Vedanta promoter sells ₹2,149 cr stake, funds to cut parent debt

Twin Star Holdings, the promoter group entity of the Vedanta Group, sold about 73 million shares in Vedanta Ltd on Tuesday. The block deal raised ₹2,149 crore at ₹292 a share, according to people familiar with the transaction.

Proceeds from the sale are expected to go toward reducing debt at parent company Vedanta Resources, the sources said. Vedanta Resources carries $5.25 billion to $5.5 billion debt The group plans to extend loan tenors using a mix of longer-dated bonds and amortisation schedules, people aware of the matter added.

After the block sale Twin Star's stake in Vedanta Ltd falls to about 40% Overall promoter ownership stays near 56%.

The stake sale fits a broader deleveraging push at the holding company level. The Vedanta Group recently completed a demerger, spinning off four businesses into separately listed entities: Vedanta Aluminium Metal, Vedanta Iron and Steel, Vedanta Oil and Gas, and Vedanta Power. Each can now raise capital on its own, reducing the need for parent-level support.

“With five listed entities and different capital structures, the group is now looking at accelerated deleveraging at the holding-company level. This deleveraging is coming ahead of schedule,” one of the sources familiar with the matter said.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group has long drawn investor scrutiny over the parent's debt load. Agarwal has historically relied on dividends from operating companies and periodic stake sales to service holding-company borrowings. Tuesday's transaction adds cash directly to the parent coffers without tapping subsidiaries' cash flows.