Vedanta lists on LSE, oversold

The Sterlite group's holding company, Vedanta Resources, has raised $1 billion on the London Stock Exchange at £3.9 per share.

The open offer, which closed today, pegs the market value of the holding company at over $2 billion.

Vedanta would start trading from tomorrow, and was angling to become a part of the FTSE-250 index, a source close to the development said, noting that the Vedanta issue was the third largest in the world from a mining company.

Vedanta's $700 million initial public offer of 110 million shares was oversubscribed almost 5 times, raking in bids of close to $4 billion. The company had decided to retain 36 per cent of the oversubscription, and would now issue 150 million shares, sources said.

"After the public offer, Sterlite group chief Anil Agarwal's holding in the company will come down to around 52 per cent," a source told Business Standard.

While 50 per cent of the subscriptions came from the US, about 40 per cent came from the UK, and the balance from the rest of Europe and Asia.

Existing Sterlite shareholders will have the option of converting their shares into the Vedanta stock.

The Sterlite scrip closed at Rs 1,545.20 per share on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, representing a 1 per cent jump over yesterday's close.

"However, the modalities of the conversion are yet to be finalised," Peter Sydney-Smith, finance director, Vedanta, said at a media video conference earlier when the issue was announced.