Vedanta group to divest 25 per cent stake each in 3 Sterlite Technologies units

Vedanta Group is in talks with strategic investors to sell 25 per cent in each of the three business units of Sterlite Technologies Ltd. Sterlite Technologies has three business units, including the optical fibre manufacturing, telecom network services business and software services.

“We are bringing in partners in each of these businesses separately and looking to offload about 20-25 per cent equity. There is a huge demand for investment in these businesses. The process is on. We have appointed a banker. We are looking at a valuation of $2 billion in each of this businesses,” Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group, said.

Recently, STL announced the appointment of three Chief Executive Officers to lead the businesses. Praveen Cherian has been appointed as CEO of the network services business, and Raman Venkatraman has come in from Tata Consultancy Services to take over as the CEO of the software business. In September, STL had appointed Paul Atkinson as the Chief Executive Officer for its Optical Networking Business. The promoter group holds about 54 per cent stake in STL while the balance is with the public.

New opportunities
STL, which has been a strong player in the optical fibre business for many years, is now looking at new opportunities in the 5G telecom networking space. It is one of the indigenous companies that has developed homegrown 5G-ready solutions using open source technologies. The company is looking to expand its operations in international markets as well.

In March, STL announced major new deals and extensions to current engagement with leading telcos in the Middle-East and Africa region (MEA). The deals worth more than $100 million take STL’s order book to a record high of ₹11,300 crore. The multi-year deals range from providing optical connectivity solutions to network solutions. Last year, the company announced the acquisition of Clearcomm Group Ltd, a UK-based network integration company as part of a global strategy. The company, however, had reported a net loss of ₹140 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2021. STL’s shares close up 1.70 per cent to ₹206.6 a piece on BSE at close on Thursday. The Hindu BusinessLine