Move on Anglo may lead to Vedanta deal
Indian billionaire targets a stake of 12% in Anglo American that would make Volcan the mining giant's second-largest shareholder
The surprise announcement of a £2bn investment to take a 12% stake in Anglo American by Indian billionaire and mining company owner Anil Agarwal prompted speculation he could be on the first step of a cherished ambition to tie the company up with Vedanta Resources. In 2016, Bloomberg reported Agarwal was rebuffed by Anglo when he suggested a tie-up of the Hindustan Zinc business owned by Indian miner Vedanta, in which a family trust has a 69% interest. On Wednesday evening, after the markets closed in London, the Agarwal family trust (Volcan Investments) announced a £2bn scheme led and underwritten by JP Morgan and involving a financial instrument called a mandatory exchange bond, backed by Anglo shares tendered into the scheme, to finance the plan. It left many observers puzzled. The three-year bond would carry a coupon of 4.125%, paid bi-annually and which could be converted into either cash or repaid in Anglo shares at the end of three years, said well-placed market sources. The ...
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