Committee of creditors to vote on Vedanta, Adani offers

Nuvama, ICICI flag weak rationale and misaligned portfolio fit

- SAI ARAVINDH

Shares of Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta fell nearly 3 per cent on Monday after analysts raised concerns about the company emerging as the top bidder for bankrupt Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL).

The mining conglomerate offered ₹17,000 crore to outbid the Adani group for acquiring Jaiprakash Associates. The bid, with a net present value of ₹12,505 crore, is the highest recovery plan placed so far for the debt-laden company, which has admitted claims of over ₹59,000 crore. The auction saw only Vedanta and Adani actively participate, even though other shortlisted suitors—Dalmia Bharat group, Jindal Power, and PNC Infratech—had qualified for the process. These companies chose not to submit bids in the final round.

Vedanta getting into "unrelated businesses" when its priority should be deleveraging is a cause for concern, analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equities said in a note. The brokerage noted that the deal is not yet final, as the committee of creditors is likely to take around two months to finalise the resolution plan.