Stay away from expensive M&As: Lenders to Anil Agarwal's Vedanta

Group cannot take recourse to VRL, Vedanta's books to bid for BPCL

Lenders have asked Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group not to take recourse to the books of Vedanta Resources and its Indian-listed subsidiary Vedanta for the acquisition of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) or any other expensive M&A in the future till it refinances its debt.

Vedanta had put its steel firm, Electrosteel Steel and Tutikorin plant for sale, but it could not find any takers. This has put more pressure on the company to raise funds via different sources. Vedanta entered the steel industry in 2018 after acquiring Electrosteel Steel under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). It had evinced interest to acquire BPCL under the government's privatisation drive, which could have cost up to Rs 60,000 crore to buyers. Any expensive acquisition would put additional burden on Vedanta and its parent VRL, which are taking several steps to refinance their older debt.