Mining major Vedanta (VEDL), a subsidiary of London-headquartered Vedanta Resources (VRL), has approved raising of upto ₹3,400 crore through issuances of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
The company intends to issue 340,000 NCDs in one or more tranches. The NCDs would be issued on a private basis. The company’s authorised Committee of Directors approved the fund raising at its meeting held today, VEDL said in a statement.
VEDL had earlier said that the fund raising was part of routine refinancing undertaken in ordinary course of business.
On Monday, VEDL’s board approved an interim dividend of ₹11 per share for FY24, amounting to ₹4,089 crore. This is the second interim dividend announced by the company for the financial year, and this comes at a time when VEDL and its parent VRL were seeking to shore up funds to trim debt.
The company has set December 27 as the record date for the payment of the dividend.
Earlier in May, VEDL approved its first interim dividend of ₹18.50 per share for FY24, with an outgo of ₹6,877 crore. Together with today’s announcement, the total dividend for the year would be about ₹10,966 crore.
VEDL, in which VRL holds a 68.11% stake, had announced a total dividend payout of ₹37,700 crore through five issuances in FY23 alone.
Last week, VRL had sought investors’ approval to extend the maturity date of its $3.15 billion dollar bonds -– due in January 2024, August 2024 and March 2025 – by as much as four years. The company, helmed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, also secured a $1.25 billion new funding to repay part of the debt. It also offered to pay $779 million in February for notes due in 2024 and 2025.
At mid-day, VEDL’s shares were trading up 0.71% at Rs 262.45 on the BSE.
