The shareholders of London-based Vedanta Resources plc – the holding company for mining major Vedanta Ltd and oil explorer Cairn India Ltd – have approved a merger between the two subsidiary companies.
The resolution proposing the merger was passed on Tuesday with almost all votes cast in favour of the motion.
Last year, Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources had proposed a merger between the two subsidiary companies in an all-stock deal, which hit a roadblock after minority shareholders in Cairn India – particularly LIC – were unhappy with the terms of the offer.
After almost a year of wrangling, Vedanta sweetened the deal for Cairn’s shareholders, offering them one equity share and four redeemable preference shares in the new Vedanta Ltd, instead of the earlier offer of one of each. The new terms, proxy advisory IiAS said, suits both sets of shareholders.
Voting by postal ballot is ongoing for shareholders of both Vedanta Ltd and Cairn India. Their verdicts will be announced at their respective extraordinary general meetings, on Thursday for Vedanta Ltd in Goa and on Monday in Mumbai for Cairn India.