Hindustan Zinc to get in touch with mines ministry for resolution on acquisition of Vedanta's overseas assets

Hindustan Zinc is planning to get in touch with the mines ministry to resolve the differences over the acquisition of overseas assets of holding company Vedanta Ltd, Hindustan Zinc CEO Arun Misra said. Valuation of the assets is among several concerns flagged by the government, which holds a 29.54 per cent stake in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) that was privatised more than two decades ago.

The meeting is expected shortly, Misra said.

“…we are reading in various newspapers about the comments of various minority shareholders. I have not met anybody personally. Once I meet them and know exactly what is their view then may be I can comment. I won’t be able to offer any comment on other’s comments which I can’t verify personally,” Misra told PTI.

According to a source, the objections on the proposal were raised by all three government directors in the nine-member HZL board.

Misra further said that the “board meeting deliberations by law are also only the output of the board meeting that gets filed, so we don’t comment on what happened inside the board room.”

Anil Agarwal-promoted Vedanta had last month said it will sell its global zinc assets to Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) for cash consideration of USD 2,981 million.

The source had further said, “The ownership of both the companies lies with Vedanta. Therefore, there is no need to buy the overseas asset.” Vedanta holds 64.92 per cent equity share of HZL.

Subject to receipt of timely regulatory approvals, the transaction is likely to be completed in a phased manner over a period of 18 months.

Hindustan Zinc is an integrated producer of zinc, lead and silver.