Vedanta trims $600m off deal for Cairn India stake
MINER Vedanta altered the terms of its deal to buy Cairn’s Indian assets yesterday, cutting the total value of the long-delayed deal by $600m (£376m) to just over $6bn.
Cairn and Vedanta also agreed to complete the deal for 40 per cent of Cairn India in two tranches, with an initial 10 per cent being bought on or before 11 July.
Vedanta, which will become a fully fledged diversified miner once it secures a slice of India’s oil reserves, will acquire the remaining 30 per cent stake it has agreed to buy once it has necessary consents from India.
While neither Cairn nor Vedanta gave reasons for the changes to the drawn-out deal, analysts said the changes could be linked to an expected government decision on royalty payments.
The change, announced late yesterday afternoon, helped Vedanta’s shares bounce three per cent and Cairn rise 1.2 per cent.