In recent months, Agarwal has been facing the worst losses. Vedanta Resources Ltd has $2 billion worth of bonds due in 2024.
This is bad news for Anil Agarwal, who was poised to compete with the world’s biggest natural resource giants Glencore and BHP Billiton.
Vedanta’s drive to raise money is also at a critical juncture. Once Asia’s richest man, Gautam Adani, has been increasingly scrutinized by investors after Hindenburg accused him of building his infrastructure empire through fraud.
Anil Agarwal is facing a massive decline in assets. The main problem is the accumulated debt of London-listed Vedanta Resources Ltd. There are many other problems faced by the company. Efforts to merge debt-ridden Vedanta Resources into profitable Mumbai-based Vedanta Ltd have so far gone nowhere.
He came to Bombay in 1975 and raised a mining company called Vedanta from the metal scrap business. Vedanta Resources was founded in 2003 by Anil Agarwal. Within a few years, Agarwal expanded his empire. In 2002, he acquired Hindustan Zinc and then awarded contracts to iron ore producers Sesa Goa Ltd and Cairn India.
Vedanta became the first Indian business to list in London in 2003, 15 years after its establishment. One of the world’s largest suppliers of natural resources, the company has mining operations in India and Africa. However
Now there is concern that this empire will collapse. Vedanta Resources cannot raise more money by issuing bonds as the value of the bonds depreciates. The rating of bonds has fallen sharply. It was announced that Vedanta International’s zinc business would be acquired by Hindustan Zinc, but the acquisition was not completed.