Cairn Energy may have to again extend the May 20 deadline to complete selling a part of its stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources.
The fate of the deal is dependent on a Group of Ministers, which is unlikely to meet before the said date.
This will be the second time Cairn will be extending the deadline. Earlier, Cairn Energy had to extend its deadline for the stake sale from April 15 to May 20.
Last August, Cairn Energy and Vedanta announced a deal according to which Cairn Energy proposes to sell a maximum 51 per cent stake in Cairn India to Vedanta for up to $8.48 billion.
The CEO of Cairn Energy, Sir Bill Gammell, and the CEO of Cairn India, Mr Rahul Dhir, met the Petroleum Minister, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, on Wednesday and expressed deep concern at the delay. Cairn Energy was hoping to get mandatory approvals for its stake sale in Cairn India Ltd to Vedanta by May 20.
Sir Bill said on Tuesday, “Cairn continues to work in a positive and constructive manner with the Government of India to secure the necessary approvals to complete the Vedanta transactions. We are hopeful we'll get Government approval by May 20.”