MUMBAI, April 19 — Vedanta Resources Plc has bought an 11 per cent stake in Cairn India , a source said, pushing ahead with plans to take control of the Indian oil and gas company despite regulatory delays plaguing the US$9.6 billion (RM29.08 billion) deal.
Vedanta’s move to acquire Cairn India is part of London-based mining magnate Anil Agarwal’s plans to grab a slice of India’s oil reserves and get exposure to surging demand.
But its agreement to buy a 40 per cent to 51 per cent stake from Cairn Energy is yet to be cleared by the Indian government. Vedanta is also aiming to buy a further 20 per cent through an open offer.
Vedanta bought the 11 per cent stake from Malaysia’s national oil corporation Petronas , a source familiar with the matter said. The source could not be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Petronas sold the remainder of its stake, almost 4 per cent, to some foreign portfolio investors, the source added.
Analysts said Vedanta’s US$1.5 billion share purchase in Cairn India would be useful if it fails to get a big response from minority shareholders for its open offer.
“This is a strategic move by Vedanta and it makes the open offer inconsequential,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at brokerage SMC Global Securities.
“Vedanta will now be able to get a comfortable controlling stake in Cairn India even if the open offer response is very poor,” he said. “But all this is subjective to the government clearing the deal and that is an unknown factor.”
Spokesmen for Cairn India and Vedanta in India did not respond to calls by Reuters seeking comment on the block deal. Petronas confirmed it had sold its stake.
Vedanta’s deal to buy a majority stake in India’s No. 4 oil and gas company hasn’t received approval from the Indian government, eight months after its announcement, due to a dispute in royalty payments.
The offer by Sesa Goa to buy up to a 20 per cent stake in Cairn India was launched on April 11 and closes on April 30.
Thunuguntla said many investors would not tender their shares because the gap between the open offer price and the market price had narrowed significantly.
Vedanta will join BHP Billiton as the only miner with large oil interests.
Cairn India shares rose as much as 3 per cent after the block deal today to touch 346.15 rupees, slightly below the 355 rupees that Vedanta’s India unit Sesa Goa is offering to Cairn India minority shareholders.
By 1043 GMT, Cairn Energy shares were up 1 per cent in a FTSE index up 0.4 per cent .
Vedanta had said Cairn India had the potential to almost double current production to about 240,000 barrels of oil per day — around a quarter of India’s output — allowing it to benefit from rising demand amid industrialisation, economic growth, and an expanding population.
Vedanta bought the 11 per cent stake at 331 rupees (US$7.40) a share, the source said, reflecting a discount of 1.6 per cent to Cairn India’s closing price yesterday.
Cairn India saw 283 million shares, or 14.9 per cent of the share capital, changing hands in block share market deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange today.
“What this says is they are serious about the deal. They are putting their money where their mouth is, signalling intent and perhaps subtly turning up the pressure (on the Indian government),” a London-based analyst told Reuters.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch represented Petronas in the deal.
Big deal
Vedanta’s deal to buy Cairn’s India assets, which would be the biggest acquisition in the Indian oil sector, is widely seen as a litmus test for foreign investment into India.
Vedanta and Cairn Energy have extended the deadline to seal the deal to May 20, after they failed to get the approval from the Indian government within the previous deadline of April 15.
This month, the Indian government referred the matter to a panel for further review, after discussing it in a meeting in which it was expected to make a final decision.
The deal has been delayed by a dispute over royalty payments by Cairn India’s partner, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp .
ONGC, which has a 30-per cent holding in the Cairn-operated Rajasthan fields in western India, pays 100 per cent of the royalties. India’s oil ministry has been pushing to share the royalty burden between ONGC and Cairn India.
Both Cairn and Vedanta have opposed that move. Any changes in the royalty structure will impact valuations and may jeopardise the deal, analysts have said. — Reuters
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