Vedanta's Oil & Gas Head Ajay Dixit Quits, 5th Since Firm's Acquisition

Billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd's oil and gas division Cairn CEO Ajay Dixit has decided to hang up his boots at month-end, the fifth chief executive to quit the firm since it was taken over by the mining baron eight years back.

Dixit, who was appointed CEO of Cairn Oil and Gas in mid-April last year, has decided not to seek an extension of his contract when it comes to an end at the end of the month, sources with direct knowledge of the development said.

It wasn't immediately known why Dixit quit. When contacted, a company spokesperson said a statement is likely shortly.

Dixit had the shortest tenure of just over a year as the head of the firm that operates the nation's biggest onland field in Barmer in Rajasthan.

He was acting CEO of Vedanta's aluminum and power business before being elevated as CEO of Cairn Oil & Gas. His appointment had come after Sudhir Mathur resigned from the company.

Dixit is the fifth CEO to have quit the company since Vedanta completed the acquisition of Cairn India in December 2011.

Rahul Dhir, the company's first CEO who oversaw its listing and development of India's biggest oil discovery in Rajasthan, quit the company in August 2012. His successor P Elango resigned in May 2014, while the third CEO Mayank Ashar resigned in May 2016.

Dixit's resignation came just when Agarwal announced intention to take Vedanta private by offering to buy out minority shareholders.

Agarwal's Vedanta Resources has offered to buy 48.94 per cent held by public shareholders at Rs 87.5 per share. The company share was trading at Rs 93.35 on the BSE at 1430 hrs.

Vedanta had bought 58.8 per cent stake in Cairn India from British explorer Cairn Energy for USD 8.67 billion in August 2010 and the acquisition was completed in December 2011.

In April 2017, Cairn India was merged with Vedanta and delisted from the stock exchanges. Vedanta Ltd, whose shares have fallen more than 40 per cent this year, houses commodity as well as oil and gas business.

At the offer price of Rs 87.5, Agarwal's Vedanta Resources will have to shell out Rs 16,218 crore to acquire all of the public shareholdings.

Vedanta Resources Ltd along with the other members of the promoter group presently holds 51.06 per cent of the shareholding of Vedanta Ltd.