Mining tycoon in India fights to clear Vedanta’s debt

BLOOMBERG

For decades, Anil Agarwal cultivated a reputation as one of India’s great survivors. Starting as a scrap metal dealer, the billionaire magnate built a mining conglomerate to rival any other, weathering cash crunches, government friction and disputes with Indigenous people over expansion plans.
But in recent months, Agarwal has faced one of his toughest acts yet. The tycoon’s Vedanta Resources Ltd has close to $2 billion of bonds to settle in 2024 — half of which is due in January. Short of that, his London-headquartered company risks getting cut deeper into junk and losing crucial access to funding. That’s bad news for one of India’s richest men, who has long dreamed of competing against Glencore Plc and BHP Billiton as the world’s dominant natural resources supplier.
Vedanta’s quest to raise cash comes during a rocky time for India’s business elite. Highly leveraged conglomerates are under increased scrutiny after a short seller accused Gautam Adani, once Asia’s richest person, of fraud across his infrastructure empire.
Though Vedanta’s debt pile is much smaller, the company’s bonds are rated near the lowest rung of gradings, raising the stakes for one of India’s largest miners to find a way out of the abyss. Investors are concerned about Vedanta’s ability to tap funds from its subsidiaries. Multiple dividends over the past year have depleted cash reserves, a troubling development amid high global interest rates and volatile commodity prices.
Added to the mix of unknowns is the man himself. Whether Agarwal’s brash style of deal-making is a risk or an advantage depends on whom you ask. He is often described as India’s version of a Russian-like oligarch: a scrappy entrepreneur who amassed his fortune by snatching up and reviving state-owned assets. “Anil has always been a survivor,” said Tom Albanese, who served as chief executive of Vedanta Resources from 2014 to 2017. “He rose literally from the street; English isn’t his first language. He always felt he had something to prove.”
Vedanta Resources and Vedanta Ltd didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.