Vedanta to sell 1.59% Hindustan Zinc stake worth $500.8 million

Indian oil-to-metals conglomerate Vedanta said on Tuesday it will sell up to a 1.59% stake in its unit Hindustan Zinc, worth about 45.9 billion rupees ($500.8 million), based on Reuters calculations.

Vedanta will sell the shares at a floor price of 685 rupees, it said in an exchange filing, representing a 5.8% discount to Tuesday’s closing price of 727.20 rupees.

The offer for sale includes a base offer of a 0.79% stake. If oversubscribed, an additional 0.79% stake will be sold, taking the total proposed sale to 1.59%.

The offer opens for non-retail investors on Wednesday, January 28, and for retail investors on Thursday, Vedanta said.

As of December 31, Vedanta held 61.84% of the zinc and silver miner, while the Indian government is Hindustan Zinc’s second-largest shareholder, with a 27.92% stake.

Vedanta has sold portions of its stake in Hindustan Zinc twice in the past two years to help shore up its balance sheet.

($1 = 91.7080 Indian rupees)

(By Nandan Mandayam; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Eileen Soreng)