Vedanta shares at new 52-week low on Moody’s downgrade

New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) Shares of Vedanta Limited hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after a downgrade by ratings agency, Moody’s.

Vedanta shares were down 6 per cent at Rs 210.60 on BSE accompanied by heavy volumes.

Moody’s Investor Service downgraded corporate family rating of Vedanta to Caa2 from Caa1.

Moody’s has also downgraded rating on senior unsecured bonds to Caa3 from Caa2, issued by Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL) and those issued by VRL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Vedanta Resources Finance 11 Plc, and guaranteed by VRL. At the same time, they have maintained a ‘negative’ outlook.

“The downgrade reflects elevated risk of debt restructuring over the next few months because VRL has not made any meaningful progress on refinancing its upcoming debt maturities, in particular the $1 billion bonds maturing each in January 2024 and August 2024,” said the ratings agency, as per reports.

On September 21, Vedanta’s board of directors approved to raise Rs 2,500 crore on a private placement basis, as non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The company said that the fund-raising was part of its routine refinancing undertaken in the ordinary course of business.

–IANS

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