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Vedanta Group firm Sesa Goa has said it will come out with an open offer by April 11 to acquire up to a 20 per cent additional stake in Cairn India at Rs 355 per share.
The company’s decision to go ahead with the open offer is subject to Government approval, Sesa Goa said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange today.
The $9.6-billion deal, wherein the UK-based Vedanta Group entered into an agreement with Cairn Energy Plc for taking an over 51 per cent stake in Cairn India, is expected to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in the afternoon.
The London-listed mining firm controlled by NRI billionaire Mr Anil Agarwal had channelled the deal through its subsidiary Sesa Goa.
“Sesa Goa is required to launch the open offer by April 11 at a price of Rs 355 per Cairn India share. The acquisition of 51-60 per cent of Cairn India by the Vedanta Group remains conditional on receipt of Government of India consents,” the filing said.
The company made this announcement following conditional clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Tuesday for the open offer.
The Government clearance will pave the way for London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources to enter the oil business through Cairn India, which operates the Mangala oilfield in Rajasthan — the largest onland domestic oilfield, among others.
Both Cairn Energy and Vedanta have kept a timeline of April 15 to close the transaction, which may have to be extended following the new developments.
The Vedanta Group, soon after announcing the deal to acquire up to 51 per cent stake in Cairn India, had sought SEBI’S approval for the mandatory open offer to be made to the public shareholders of the target company.
As per the deal, Sesa Goa would acquire a 40 per cent stake from Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy Plc for $6.65 billion and make an open for to acquire another 20 per cent from Cairn India’s other stockholders.
In the public offer announced on August 17, Sesa Goa had offered to acquire up to a 20 per cent stake from public shareholders at a price of Rs 355 per share.
The Rs 13,631-crore open offer was first scheduled to open on October 11 and close on October 30, but got affected due to a delay in SEBI approval for the same.
The company will now have to announce a fresh schedule for the open offer, where it may have to incorporate various clarifications sought by the market regulator during the course of its due diligence on the proposed transaction.
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