Bhushan Steel stock closes 7.48% higher on buzz of acquisition by Vedanta

The Bhushan Steel stock on Thursday rose up to 10 per cent on buzz that Vedanta also joined the race to buy the debt-laden firm, reported  CNBC TV 18 citing sources.

However, Vedanta on Friday clarified that it was not involved in any talks with Bhushan Steel. It said,"We note the media speculation on a TV channel regarding talks with lenders of Bhushan Steel. We would like to clarify that these are totally baseless, and the company is not involved in any talks or transaction.  We strongly deny such speculative and baseless reports."

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel is also said to be in talks with lenders to buy Bhushan Steel, which has debt of around Rs 30,000 to Rs 33,000 crore.

Lenders of Bhushan Steel include Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India among others. Vedanta is looking to enter the steel sector with the possible acquisition of Bhushan Steel.

The announcement of special interim dividend by Hindustan Zinc will benefit Vedanta's financials as it holds majority stake in the former.

Lenders are likely to start a competitive bidding process for selling Bhushan Steel, the report said.

The net loss for the third quarter of FY'17 widened to Rs 734 crore against net loss of Rs 693.6 crore in Q3FY16. The widening of loss was led by increase in finance costs by 20% to Rs 1,377.8 crore.

At 1456 hours, the stock was up 9.28 percent to Rs 58 level. The stock is down 336 per cent in the last five years. The stock closed 7.48 percent higher at Rs 56.75 level on the BSE.

It rose almost 52 percent during the last one year.

Bhushan Steel is engaged in the steel business. Its plants are located at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh; Raigad, Maharashtra, and Dhenkanal, Orissa. Its subsidiaries include Bhushan Steel Madhya Bharat Ltd. and Bhushan Steel (Australia) PTY, among others.