Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta seeks $500m loan for Zambia Copper

Vedanta Resources Ltd., the diversified mining group chaired by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, is in advanced talks with a group of international banks over a $500 million loan that could be signed early next year. The financing would give the company fresh breathing room as it continues to pare debt and fund operations at one of its most important overseas assets.

The proposed facility is expected to run for four years and amortize over its life, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Pricing is set at about 425 basis points over the benchmark SOFR rate, with a weighted average life of roughly two and a half years. Part of the proceeds would be used to refinance existing, higher-cost borrowings, while the rest would be directed toward capital spending at Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia.

Vedanta restructures debt, funds Zambia

Citigroup, Barclays, Mashreq, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. are leading the lending group, the people said. Vedanta plans to use about $200 million of the loan to replace older debt, with the balance earmarked for Konkola, one of Zambia’s largest and most strategically important copper operations.

To support the deal, lenders have discussed a security structure linked to brand fees paid by Vedanta’s Indian operating companies. Under the proposal, the debt would be issued as unsecured bills of exchange by units including Vedanta Ltd. and Hindustan Zinc and guaranteed by step-down subsidiary Twin Star Holdings. Income from brand fees reached $386 million in the year ended March 2025, with $379 million already recorded by June, providing lenders with a predictable stream of cash flow.

The talks come as Vedanta continues to tidy up its balance sheet after several years of heavy borrowing. Gross debt has fallen by more than $4 billion, from $9.1 billion in 2022 to about $4.7 billion as of June 2025, helped by asset sales, refinancings and equity fundraisings. Average bond maturities have been pushed out to nearly five years from about three, leaving $1.2 billion due over the next 30 months, including roughly $800 million of external obligations.

Miner funds expansion, copper focus

Over the past year, the company raised about $2.2 billion through bank loans and rupee-denominated non-convertible debentures, cutting interest costs by around 130 basis points. It also secured $1 billion via a qualified institutional placement and roughly $400 million from other funding sources.

Vedanta operates across India, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with businesses spanning oil and gas, base metals, aluminum, steel, power and glass substrates. It has also signaled interest in semiconductors and display glass. For the year ended March 31, 2025, revenue rose 6 percent to $18.2 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization climbed 16 percent to $5.5 billion.

Last month, the company said it plans to invest $1.5 billion to increase output at Konkola by 2031. For Agarwal, Zambia remains a key pillar of Vedanta’s copper business as demand for the metal grows alongside global electrification and infrastructure spending.