Vedanta Completes Cairn India Deal

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>Vedanta Resources Plc completed its long-delayed $8.7-billion purchase of a majority stake in Cairn Energy Plc's Indian unit, more than a year after the deal was first announced, in a move that turns India-focused Vedanta into a diversified resources group.<br><br>London-listed Vedanta now holds 58.5 per cent of Cairn India, it said on Thursday, of which 20 per cent is held through its Sesa Goa unit.<br><br>Cairn Energy, which will retain a 22 per cent stake in Cairn India, confirmed it would return around $3.5 billion to shareholders.<br><br>Cairn Energy agreed in August last year to sell a majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta. But the sale, one of the largest in India's energy sector, was delayed for months due to a disagreement over royalty payments.<br><br>"Today marks a key milestone for Vedanta as it puts to bed a deal drawn out for well over a year that has contributed to underperformance on fears of deal terms uncertainty and balance sheet stress," analysts at Liberum said in a note.<br><br>"Oil has been a solid performer over the course of 2011 ... we see the Cairn India inclusion as the key factor in repairing Vedanta's balance sheet and boosting bottom-line performance."<br><br>(Reuters)</p>