Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal indicated the timeline by when the company would sell its steel assets. Agarwal’s confirmation comes after Vedanta announced the demerger of its business into six different entities.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Agarwal said that Vedanta would sell its steel asset by March 2024. He added that the response to the steel and iron business will help the company reduce debt. Adding that all finances are lined up for the repayment of dues, Agarwal said that maturities are lined up as early as January 2024.
The steel business that contributed 4 per cent to the company’s full-year operating profit will include the domestic iron ore business, Liberia assets and ESL Steel Ltd.
Agarwal said that both refinancing and repayment options are open for now when it comes to pending dues.
Vedanta, last week, said that it plans to separate its commodities businesses into six listed companies to “unlock value and attract big ticket investment”. The board approved a "pure-play, asset-owner business model that will ultimately result in six separate listed companies".
The six listed companies are as follows: Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta Base Metals and Vedanta Limited.
Agarwal had said that the demand for minerals, metals, oil and gas and power is going to grow very rapidly and Vedanta’s businesses are uniquely positioned to service this rising demand and reduce reliance on imports.
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