Cairn asks govt's approval of Vedanta deal

New Delhi, Sep 13: Though discussions over selling majority stake of Cairn Energy's Indian arm to Vedanta Resources are on the air for a long time, but for the first time Cairn formally approached to Indian government for its approval of the deal.

The company officials stated that the government's approval will complete all contractual requirements needed to fructify the deal.

A senior Oil Ministry person informed, "We have received letters from Cairn and we are examining them. We will decide (on it) in due course."

Cairn maintained that only New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) blocks required prior government consent for transfer of control, while pre-NELP areas like the Rajasthan oilfield do not have such provisions.

In its official application, Vedanta attached a summary of the deal where Cairn Energy is selling a 40-51 percent stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources Group for up to $8.48 billion.

OneIndia News