NEW DELHI: Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd announced on Thursday raising funds of up to Rs 8,500 crore by issuing equity shares. The company, in an exchange filing, also said that its board approved a dividend payment of Rs 11 per share for the financial year 2024-25, amounting to a total payout of nearly Rs4,089 crore.
“The record date for the dividend payment has been set at May 25,” the company said in an exchange filing.
The purpose of raising cash through the issue of equity shares (or via further public offer, rights issue, or other means) is to cut down its standalone debt by $3 billion over the next three years. Vedanta reported a reduction in net debt to Rs 56,338 crore as of March 31, down Rs 6,155 crore from the preceding three months.
The promoters currently hold 62% stake in the company. At Rs 1.62 lakh crore market cap of the company, the promoter’s stake is valued at Rs 1 lakh crore. The company has a paid up capital of Rs 372 crore and authorised capital of Rs 4,402 crore.
Vedanta’s board also approved setting up a continuous cast copper rod plant in Saudi Arabia. According to the company, the investment in Vedanta Copper International VCI Company Limited (VCI) will involve establishing a state-of-the-art copper rod manufacturing facility with a projected capacity of 125 KTPA. The company said this will enable it to explore more growth opportunities in new geographies.
“Post the investment, VCI will become a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Vedanta,” the company said in an exchange filing.