Vedanta directors recommend Agarwal buy-out offer

Vedanta Resources has agreed to be taken private by founder and major shareholder Anil Agarwal for a price equivalent to 825p per share.

Agarwal's Volcan vehicle, which already owns 66.53% of the FTSE 250 company's shares, offered to pay $10.89 per share in cash, valuing the group at £778m.

In addition, Vedanta shareholders are due to receive the announced dividend of $0.41 per share that has been confirmed for payment on 22 August.

Vedanta's committee of independent directors, speaking to financial adviser Lazard, "consider the terms of the offer to be fair and reasonable" and have unanimously recommended shareholders accept the offer.

Shares in Anglo American have been boosted in recent weeks on speculation that Agarwal, who owns 19.35% of the company, is preparing a plan to merge Vedanta Resources and Anglo American's South African business via a share swap.