The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is unlikely to clear Vedanta Resources and Sesa Goa's open offer to the shareholders of Cairn India till the government approves the Cairn-Vedanta deal, according to officials familiar with the matter.
According to the tentative schedule released in a public announcement on August 16, the Cairn India open offer opens on October 11 and closes on October 30. However, till Monday evening, the market regulator had not given its final comments on the open offer, officials said on condition of anonymity.
If the Sebi clearance does not come in the next two-three days, the original timeline would have to be revised, they said.
"Sebi is unlikely to give its nod to Cairn India's open offer till the government clears the Cairn-Vedanta deal," said Sandeep Parekh, founder of Finsec Law Advisors and a former executive director (legal) at Sebi.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has referred Cairn-Vedanta deal to the law ministry, after state-run Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), Cairn India's partner in three oil producing fields, sought the legal opinion of solicitor general of India on the deal.
On August 16, billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Group said it would buy 51-60 per cent stake in Cairn India for $8.5-9.6 billion in cash. As per the deal, Vedanta proposed to acquire a minimum 40 per cent Cairn India shares from its promoter, Cairn Energy PLC, at Rs 405 a share, which includes a non-compete fee of Rs 50 a share.
Vedanta Resources, along with group company Sesa Goa, has announced an open offer to buy another 20 per cent stake, or 383.99 million shares, of Cairn India at Rs 355 a share from public shareholders.
Sebi norms require an acquirer of more than 15 per cent stake in a company to make an open offer to buy 20 per cent more from its public shareholders.
