Vedanta steps closer to delisting; 137.74 crore shares offered in buyback

NEW DELHI: Vedanta Ltd stepped closer to being delisted from Indian bourses after 137.74 crore shares were tendered at the close of the buyback offer made by the promoters. The shares tendered are more than the 134 crore shares out of the public holding of 169.73 crore that the promoter group headed by billionaire Anil Agrawal needed for delisting of the company.

According to data available from stock exchanges, 137.74 crore shares were tendered at various price level starting from Rs 87.25 a share. Most numbers of 21.51 crore shares were offered at a price of Rs 160 per share, followed by 18.9 crore shares at Rs 145 and another 10.87 crore shares being offered at a price of Rs 153 apiece.

The company is now to accept the shares and declare a buyback price. Vedanta promoters want to buy out 169.73 crore shares or 47.67 per cent stake held by the public to delist the firm. The reverse book building process started on October 5.

The offered closed on Friday. Vedanta closed at Rs 122.10 on the BSE on Friday, a gain of 3.83 per cent over the previous close. The promoters have raised USD 3.15 billion (about Rs 24,000 crore) to fund the delisting.

This funding can support a price of Rs 140-145 per share.