BENGALURU (Reuters) – Vedanta Ltd will raise 34 billion rupees ($408.76 million) through an issue of debentures, the Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate said on Tuesday, its third such move in the current fiscal year.
The fundraise comes at a time when the company is seeking ways to arrange capital for its cash-strapped parent, UK-based Vedanta Resources.
Vedanta Ltd’s board of directors have approved the issue of 340,000 non-convertible debentures, in one or more tranches, each carrying a face value of 100,000 rupees, it said in an exchange filing.
The debentures will be issued on a private placement basis, Vedanta Ltd added.
The 34 billion rupees non-convertible debentures issue is also the highest fundraise made so far this fiscal year. The company had also issued debentures in April and September.
The debt issue comes a day after Vedanta Ltd declared a second interim dividend of 11 rupees per share, with the payout amounting to 40.89 billion rupees.
Vedanta Resources, which holds a 63.7% stake in Vedanta Ltd, will be the major benefactor of the dividend payout as it looks to clear its $6.4 billion outstanding debt.
Group Chairman Anil Agarwal told CNBC-TV18 in October that Vedanta had lined up finances of about $1 billion in January and $500-$600 million in August to pay the dues.
Shares of Vedanta, which are down nearly 15% so far this year, were up about 0.6% after the announcement.
($1 = 83.1775 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
