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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The government’s opposition to Hindustan Zinc’s plan to buy Vedanta Ltd’s global zinc assets for $2.9 billion could jeopardize the conglomerate’s efforts to trim its debt.
Editor's note: On 19 January, Hindustan Zinc Ltd announced it was buying Vedanta Ltd’s global zinc assets for $2.9 billion. Both firms are part of Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources. “This investment is an attractive opportunity for Hindustan Zinc to grow and increase its foothold overseas and take its brand globally,” the company said in a statement. The Indian government, which holds a 29.54% stake in HZL and has three of its nominees on the company’s board, seemed to agree. It also didn’t matter that HZL’s shares plunged 9% after the announcement. In fact, on 2 February, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the secretary of the finance minister’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, said the government planned to sell a part of its stake in HZL to achieve this fiscal year’s disinvestment target. Then things took an unexpected turn. On 6 February, CNBC-TV18 reported that the government opposed the proposed deal, with its nominees on HZL’s board objecting to it. The objection, the report added, had put the government’s partial disinvestment plan on hold. So, what changed within a week? “It looked like …
Record earnings and a cleaner balance sheet offer relief, but muted production growth, delayed projects and a heavy reliance on favourable commodity cycles could weigh on the newly demerged entities of Anil Agarwal’s mining-to-metals group.
Despite a higher offer, creditors chose Gautam Adani’s Adani Enterprises—setting up a courtroom fight that raises questions over the bankruptcy resolution process’s priorities.
The silver rally has helped the primary cash generator of Agarwal’s mining empire return record numbers in Q3. Investors are pleased. But a few questions linger.
