VEDANTA
By Rakesh Sharma, Santanu Choudhury and James Herron
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- Shares in Cairn Energy PLC (CNE.LN) fell as much as 4% Monday after India's government said it doesn't expect to decide until the end of February whether to allow the sale of a majority stake in Cairn's Indian assets to Vedanta Resources PLC (VED.LN)--two months later than previously expected.
Cairn Energy is awaiting regulatory approval to sell up to 60% of Cairn India Ltd. (532792.BY) for as much as $8.5 billion to London-listed mining conglomerate Vedanta, which is controlled by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal. Sesa Goa Ltd. (500295.BY), a Vedanta unit, will help Vedanta's purchase by acquiring a further 20% stake in the oil company.
"I had given a timeline of December 2010 earlier, presuming two to two-and-a-half months would be required to examine the request. We just got a couple of days back the request (from Cairn Energy to sell stakes in all its 10 blocks in India)," India's oil secretary S. Sundaresan told reporters Monday. "I don't think one month is enough. We require two to two-and-a-half months. So, certainly before the end of February, we should be able to decide."
Sundaresan said Cairn on Nov. 26 applied to the government to sell its stakes in all the blocks to Vedanta.
The slower than expected government decision will not necessarily derail Cairn and Vedanta's plans. Both companies have previously said they expect to close the deal by the end of the first quarter next year.
At 1339 GMT Cairn Energy shares were down 3.3%, or 13 pence at 382p. Cairn India shares closed up 6.3%, or INR18.65, at INR313.20.
The proposed sale has lingered for months. India's oil ministry says the deal needs its approval as it would involve transferring ownersip of exploration blocks. Earlier in October, Sesa Goa had to postpone its open offer to acquire a 20% stake in Cairn India as it didn't have the necessary regulatory approval.
Despite doubts over the timetable, positive momentum is building for the deal, said Goldman Sachs in a research note. "[India's] Oil & Natural Gas Corp. feels comfortable with the Cairn India deal, and it has refuted rumours of not paying its share of capex to Cairn India," Goldman said.
Goldman noted that Vedanta has secured $6 billion of debt financing for the deal and has scheduled a shareholder vote on the transaction December 13.
Cairn Energy has said it will use the sale proceeds to pay a special dividend to shareholders and increase investment in oil exploration offshore Greenland, where it was awarded additional exploration acreage Friday.
India's state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (500312.BY) has also asserted its pre-emptive rights over some blocks and questioned Vedanta's expertise in the oil and gas industry.
In October, ONGC requested Cairn Energy "to provide it with full details" of the proposed deal with Vedanta and "the details of the proposed buyers' financial strength, technical capability and past experience in the field of oil and gas."
Sundaresan said it is for ONGC to decide if it wants to exercise its pre-emptive rights.
Cairn India's key producing asset in India is the RJ-ON-90/1 oil block in Barmer in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. The block's production of 125,000 barrels a day accounts for about 17% of India's total crude output. Cairn India owns a 70% stake in the Barmer block, while ONGC holds the remaining 30%.
-- By Rakesh Sharma, Santanu Choudhury and James Herron, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-4356-3305; santanu.choudhury@dowjones.com
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