Vedanta Resources redeems bonds worth USD 515 million

LONDON: Metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources today said it has repaid in full and redeemed the USD 514.8 million outstanding amount on its 5.5 per cent 2016 convertible bonds due on July 13, 2016.

With this payment, all outstanding USD bond maturities due in 2016-17 at Vedanta Resources have been repaid (except the USD 8 million of 4 per cent convertible bonds due in March 2017), it said in a statement.

The next bond maturity for Vedanta Resources plc is the 9.5 per cent USD 750 million bond maturing in July 2018, it added.

Vedanta continues to actively manage its maturities and evaluate various options to optimise its balance sheet and reduce financing costs, including further bond buybacks.

The company remains committed to its stated group strategy of deleveraging and strengthening the balance sheet, it said.

In April, the London-listed firm said it will buy-back bonds worth USD 348.6 million (about Rs 2,314 crore) in two tranches. These are guaranteed convertible bonds due 2016 of Vedanta Resources Jersey Ltd.

In February, the firm led by NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal had announced repurchase of bonds worth up to USD 250 million (about Rs 1,700 crore) of its outstanding USD 1.25 billion convertible bonds due this year.

A month before, the metals major had announced plans to repurchase in cash bonds worth USD 500 million (about Rs 3,300 crore) out of its outstanding USD 1.13 billion convertible bonds due in July this year, but later trimmed the offer to USD 227.40 million.