By Agence France-Presse
Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal on Monday launched a bid for full control of metals mining group Vedanta, sending its share price soaring.
London-listed Vedanta said in a statement that management has backed the deal pitched at 825 pence per share and valuing the entire group at ?2.3 billion ($3.0 billion, 2.6 billion euros).
Agarwal is seeking to buy out minority shareholders, adding to his 66.53-percent stake in India and Africa-focused Vedanta through his holding company Volcan.
“I am pleased to announce this initiative, which is a natural progression of our journey to simplify the Vedanta Group’s corporate structure,” Agarwal said in the statement.
“We are very proud to have been the first Indian company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2003, which was a major milestone for the Vedanta Group.”
Agarwal added that given “the maturity of the Indian capital markets… a separate London listing is no longer necessary to achieve the Vedanta Group’s strategic objectives”.
The news sent Vedanta’s share price rocketing as high as 828.8 pence, above the offer price.
At 1300 GMT, the stock stood at 817.40 pence, up 26.38 percent from Friday’s closing level.
