New Delhi, Nov. 24: London-listed Vedanta Resources may next month seek the shareholders’ nod for buying majority stake in Cairn India for up to $9.6 billion.
The India-focussed group, which last week secured $6 billion debt for the acquisition, is likely to post in the next few days a circular convening a shareholders meet in the third week of December, sources privy to the development said.
Vedanta, which is buying 40-51 per cent stake from UK’s Cairn Energy Plc, also hopes to get market regulator SEBI’s nod for acquiring an additional 20 per cent stake from minority shareholders of Cairn India by December end and may launch an open offer in early part of January 2011.
Sources said that Cairn, in the next few days, would make a formal application to the government for approval of transfer control of its ten properties, including the mainstay Barmer oilfields in Rajasthan, that were previously not included in the letters sent for state’s approval.
Oil secretary Mr S. Sundareshan had on November 19 told PTI that the government would consider approval to the Cairn-Vedanta deal only after UK-based Cairn Energy made a formal application for transfer of control of all of its tenproperties in the country.
The government decision would take two to three months from the day the applications are received, he had said.
Sources said that if the government nod were to come by February-end or even in March, it would be well within the April 15, 2011 deadline set by Cairn and Vedanta for closure of the transaction.
Cairn Energy, which had last month secured shareholders’ nod for selling most of its 62.38 per cent stake in the Indian unit, is, however, unlikely to concede pre-emption rights to its partner Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).