India’s Vedanta to raise $120 million via debt issue

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta (NYSE:) will raise up to 10 billion rupees (nearly $120 million) by issuing non-convertible debentures through a private placement, the company said on Thursday.

In the past two months, Vedanta’s board has already approved raising up to $300 mln through debentures and a further up to $1 billion, although it is yet to decide on the structure and mode of that fundraise.

The billionaire Anil Agarwal-led company is in the middle of splitting into six different units in a move aimed at shoring up the group’s financial performance

Its net debt rose 25% to 563.38 billion rupees as of March 31, while its full-year cash and cash equivalents fell to 28.12 billion rupees from 69.26 billion rupees a year earlier.

The company aims to expand capacity for its steel and aluminium business and has proposed to set aside $1.90 billion as capital expenditure for fiscal 2025, higher than the $1.4 billion the year before.

Vedanta’s shares were up 5.5% in late morning trading. ($1 = 83.5070 Indian rupees)