Update on Vedanta’s demerger: 9-12 months more to complete the process, says John Slaven

A top official of Vedanta Limited has apprised that the company is close to demerging its key businesses, including aluminium, and is likely to complete the process in the next nine to twelve months.

The news came after John Slaven, CEO of the aluminium business of Vedanta, said in an interview with PTI that the company is working very actively to secure the successful demerger of the aluminium business. He also said the process is underway and is subject to some approvals from various authorities, including current lenders who would approve the allocation of debt across the demerged entities.

In 2023, Billionaire Anil-Agarwal-owned Vedanta Limited had announced its plan to demerge metal, power, aluminium, and oil and gas businesses into independent verticals to unlock potential value.

According to Mr Slaven, this move will be an evolutionary step for Vedanta's aluminium business, helping Vedanta Aluminium chart out its own course.

John Slaven said, "I think more fundamentally, it enables our investors and Vedanta Resources to really have a much better understanding of the opportunities and potential of the aluminium business.

Regarding Vedanta's capacity expansion plans for the financial year 2024-25, John Slaven said the company would see a significant change in business as alumina refinery expansion at Lanjigarh would be effectively completed by the end of next fiscal year.

The aluminium smelting capacity would also ramp up from 550,000 tonnes to a million tonnes with the expansion of BALCO smelter, said Slaven, adding that the production would most likely commence in the late second quarter or at the beginning of the third quarter of FY2024-25.

Vedanta is also expanding its manufacturing capacity of value-added products. The capacity of rolled products business would reach approximately 100,000 tonnes from the current 44,000 tonnes. The production at Vedanta's Sijimali bauxite mine will begin in the third quarter of the next financial year, said Slaven.