Vedanta Resources to list subsidiaries as separate entities

London: Market speculation in London has it that Indian mining conglomerate, London-listed Vedanta Resources, may be mulling the spinoff of six of its subsidiaries as separately listed companies, though it would retain controlling interests in each.

A report in the UK newspaper The Independent reported Sunday that a number of leading mining bankers in London may have been approached to examine plans for the listings.

If correct, the move would represent the biggest corporate breakup of a FTSE 100 company in a long time.

Banking sources point out that Vedanta Resources, owned by the Agarwal family and headed by Anil Agarwal, is a complicated mining conglomerate, with interests in various sectors such as aluminium, power and zinc.

They expect Vedanta to go in for full-scale reorganisation with the expectation that each of its businesses is sufficiently large to attract capital on its own.

There is also speculation as to the likely location of the proposed listings, whether it will be India, or even Hong Kong. Some spin-offs could also be listed at the London Metal Exchange, the centre of the world's metal markets.