Cairn and Vedanta Ltd likely to merge today

Cash-strapped Vedanta Ltd is likely to merge with its subsidiary holding Cairn India, in a move which has angered minority shareholders of the latter company, but will offset the debt of the former.

The boards of Vedanta Ltd - the operational unit of London-listed company Vedanta Resources - and subsidiary Cairn India will meet on June 14, to consider a proposal to merge Cairn with Vedanta.

Shares of the company have already been reacting to reports of the merger which is targeted to reduce the debt of the parent company, Vedanta Ltd, while reaping the benefits of the cash rich Cairn India.

On Friday, Vedanta Ltd was down 1.9% at Rs 184, while Cain India fell 0.1% to Rs 180.75.

Senior officials of Cairn India and Vedanta Ltd, including Cairn chief executive Mayank Ashar and chief financial officer Sudhir Mathur, had met Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan to brief him about the companies’ plan.

News of the possible merger of Cairn India with Vedanta Ltd have been doing the rounds for some time but have also angered the minority shareholders of Cairn India who feel that their company’s cash reserves are the main reason for the merger with parent company Vedanta Ltd.