Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal on Thursday said the company’s demerger proposal is in the final stages of receiving the necessary approvals.
Agarwal, speaking at the company’s 60th Annual General Meeting, stated that each of the demerged businesses has the potential to grow into a $100 billion enterprise. Once implemented, for every share held in Vedanta Ltd, shareholders will receive one share in each of the four demerged companies. Vedanta Group plans to create separate entities focused on aluminium, oil and gas, power, iron and steel, and zinc and silver.
“Our demerger proposal has received support from over 99.5% of shareholders and creditors. This is a vote of confidence like no other,” said Agarwal. The AGM was held a day after US short-seller Viceroy Research released a report on Wednesday, calling the Agarwal-led British parent firm Vedanta Resources a “parasite” that is “systematically draining” its Indian subsidiary. In response, officials at Vedanta Ltd strongly denied the allegations, stating that the report offered no new findings that should concern investors.
Agarwal said Hindustan Zinc is investing `12,000 crore to set up a 250,000 tonne integrated smelting complex, calling it a key part of the company’s 2x growth vision.
In the oil and gas sector, he said Vedanta aims to double production to 300,000 barrels per day. The company has initiated deepwater exploration and has increased exploration activities in the Northeast. He noted that Cairn has secured seven new OALP blocks, strengthening Vedanta’s role in India’s energy security and reducing its dependence on oil imports.
Vedanta is also working to expand aluminium production to 3.1 million tonnes, backed by investments in plant capacity and raw material security. Agarwal added that the company also plans to develop a greenfield aluminium smelter with a capacity of 3 million tonnes.
In the technology sector, Vedanta is planning to partner with 1,000 start-ups in the deep-tech space, as part of its push to diversify and invest in future technologies.