NEW DELHI: The government has written to market regulator SEBI saying Cairn Energy Plc’s deal to sell majority stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources does not yet have its approval, a condition contingent for the $8.48 billion deal to consummate.

The oil ministry has also written to Cairn Energy asking the Edinburgh-based firm to make formal applications for approval of transfer of ownership in each of the 10 properties where Cairn India holds an interest through a complex maze of 31 subsidiaries, none of whom are incorporated in India.
Sources in know said the oil ministry wrote to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) soon after Cairn Energy Plc CEO, Mr Bill Gammell’s August 26 letter that painted a “rosy picture” of its transaction to sell up to 51 per cent in Cairn India to London-listed Vedanta but stopped short of saying that the deal was contingent upon government approval.
The letter to SEBI asserts government’s right to vet a change of ownership of a company operating fields like the giant Mangala oilfield in Rajasthan, which is at the centre of Cairn Energy’s deal with Vedanta.