Sterlite Industries Vedanta (then called
Sterlite industries) began in the 1980s, as the founder D.P.Agarwal founded
Sterlite Industries (India) Limited in
Mumbai and begun to buy
mining concessions in different states of India. He was soon joined by his two sons, Navin Agarwal and Anil Agarwal, both of whom currently run the company. In 1992, they established Volcan investments in
Nassau (
Bahamas) as the main holding company for their mines. D.P.Agarwal had a small aluminium conductor business in
Patna. His son
Anil Agarwal had come to Mumbai to expand their business. In the 1990s, as the Indian government began to sell off sick (non-performing) companies, Sterlite began to bid for them. They were able to bid successfully for
BALCO and
Hindustan Zinc Limited, both bankrupt companies that had been closed down for 4 years. Meanwhile, in January 1993, D. P. Agarwal founded Twinstar Holdings Limited in
Mauritius, which was mostly owned by Volcan investments. On 26 May 2002, the
Enforcement Directorate filed a
show cause notice with Sterlite, relating to the six-year period between 1993 and 1999 when Twinstar acquired the shares of Sterlite and various investment companies – such as Dwarka Prasad Anil Kumar Investments Private Limited, Pravin Navin Investment & Trading Private Limited and Sterlite Copper Rolling Mills Private Limited – which, in turn, had made substantial investments in Sterlite and another group company, Madras Aluminium Company Limited (MALCO) after obtaining permission from the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On 29 April 1999, many of these investment companies were liquidated and all the shares of Sterlite came back to Twinstar's possession. Twinstar became the 100% owner of shares in these investment companies and received government approvals from the RBI as well as the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Since then, it gradually grew to become a large low-cost producer of iron ore. During 1991–1995, it diversified into the manufacture of
pig iron and
metallurgical coke. Scambi Economici Societa Anonyma (SESA), owned by Baron Ludovic Toeplitz, with the financial backing of Alessandro Vassalo, obtained the Orasso Dongor mining lease in Sirsaim, Goa in 1954 and Sesa Goa Limited was formed. It was bought over in 1955, with equal shareholding, by Gewerkeshaft Exploration e Bergbau and Ferromin S.p.A., a subsidiary of
Finsider S.p.A. (of
IRI group), which eventually acquired the other half stake in 1963.
Sesa Goa (1963–2007) Sesa Goa Limited was incorporated as a private limited company in 1963 under the
Companies Act, 1956. In 1979, Sesa Goa Private Limited was formed, with the merger of Sesa Goa Limited with another mining company in Goa, Mingoa Sociedade Miniera Goesa S.a.r.l. By 1965, Sesa Goa and Mingoa were incorporated as a
private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956. The
merger happened in 1979 and the new, unified company was called 'Sesa Goa Pvt Ltd'. The company went public in 1981 with 42,000 Indian
shareholders, holding 60% of its
shares and the remaining 40% held by Finsider International, which later became
ILVA International. Sesa Goa had started with iron mining as its core business but slowly, it ventured into barge construction in 1984 at Sirsaim, located in the
Bardez taluka of North Goa. Since then, the barge construction unit has been developed into a shipbuilding division. In the 1990s, Sesa Goa began further expansion, aided by an influx of foreign investment during the
economic liberalization of India enforced by the
World Bank and
IMF. In 1992, the first phase of a 150,000
ton pig iron plant was commissioned. In the same year, Sesa introduced India's first low-
phosphorus foundry grade pig iron in India and subsequently formalised the business under pig iron division. The pig iron plant was located at
Amona,
Goa and had an annual production capacity of 250,000 tonnes per annum. Other alliances were formed in the nineties—in January 1995, Sesa Shipping was launched by acquiring a transhipper
M.V. Orissa. The year also saw the inclusion of 84 new
coke ovens. When Mitsui & Co. of Japan bought Finsider International in 1996, it gained 51% stake in Sesa Go. By 1997, Sesa Kembla became a 100% subsidiary of Sesa Goa. In 1997, A Narrain mines located in
Chitradurga,
Karnataka were purchased. A
Supreme Court directive in August 2011 led to suspension of mining activities in the region. In 1999, Sesa Goa started mining operations in
Barbil, which has the fifth largest deposit of iron ore and
manganese in the world. They started producing iron ore which was exported from the port towns of
Haldia and
Paradip. During this time, the company also started the Sesa Community Development Foundation that supported the NCM Sesa Technical School and a
football academy called
SESA F.A. In March 2024,
Supreme Court also rejected a plea for reopening the plant in
Tamil Nadu. During the end of the 90s, the company also began to consolidate through mergers and acquisitions. Sesa Kembla completed the creation of an indigenous and environment-friendly technology that produced high-quality metallurgical coke. This technology generated power as a by-product. In 2003, the Sesa Goa equity in Sesa Industries was raised to 88.25%, impacting the shareholding pattern.
Take over by Vedanta (2007) In 2007,
Vedanta Resources Plc, a diversified metals and mining group founded by
Anil Agarwal, acquired 51% controlling stake in Sesa Goa Ltd. from Mitsui & Co. Ltd. Vedanta Resources is listed on the
London Stock Exchange and a constituent of
FTSE 100 Index. The deal was worth , making it the largest M&A deal in the industry so far. In 2009, Sesa Goa acquired Goa-based
Dempo Group's mining and maritime businesses for in an all-cash deal. This was the second largest acquisition in India's iron-ore industry, and it gave Sesa Goa access to Dempo's 70 million tons of iron-ore mineable resources in Goa. In 2011, Sesa Goa purchased 51% stake in Western Cluster, Liberia for $90 million. The
Liberia Gola Forest Community people who also suffered from the civil war believe that the coming of Western Cluster will help to alleviate their suffering and provide employment. In 2007, it became a majority-owned subsidiary of
Vedanta Resources Plc, listed on the
London Stock Exchange, when Vedanta acquired 51% controlling stake from
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. In June 2009, Sesa Goa Limited acquired VS Dempo & Co. Private Limited (now Sesa Resources Limited) along with its fully owned subsidiary Dempo Mining Corporation (now Vedanta Limited) and 50% equity in Goa Maritime Private Limited. In 2010, Vedanta acquired the zinc assets of British miner
Anglo American plc. In 2011
Vedanta Resources bought 58.5% controlling stake in
Cairn India, India's largest private sector oil & gas company. In 2015,
Sterlite Industries and
Sesa Goa announced their merger and finally merged into a single entity in August 2015. In 2015,
Sesa Sterlite changed its name to Vedanta Limited. On 11 April 2017, Cairn India merged with Vedanta Limited to consolidate its position as one of the largest diversified natural resources companies in the world. In 2018 Vedanta Limited acquired control of Electrosteels Steels Limited. Electrosteel Steels had been constructing an integrated steel plant at
Siyaljori in Jharkhand. In May 2020, it is declared that company is going to delist from Indian bourses as per the comment by Mr. Anil Agarwal. In September 2022, Vedanta signed a pact with
Foxconn as a technical partner to invest to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Gujarat. The venture intends to start manufacturing display and chip products within two years. The investment follows the Indian government commitment to expand incentives beyond an initial $10billion plan for those investing in
manufacturing of semiconductors. Barely a year later in July 2023 the venture was ended with mutual agreement with both companies maintaining that they are still looking to set up semiconductor foundries in India. On 24 March 2024, Vedanta Ltd announced a $6 billion investment across various business verticals, including aluminium, zinc, iron ore, steel, and oil and gas, aiming to add at least $2.5 billion to its annual
EBITDA. The investment is part of a strategy involving over 50 active projects expected to generate additional revenues of over $6 billion, with plans for a significant vertical split leading to the creation of five newly listed companies. On March 28, 2026, Vedanta's Chairman Anil Agarwal announced the company's plans to invest nearly $5 billion in the US to "build assets, access technology and partner with the best in the industry." The company later clarified that it routinely evaluates such strategic opportunities, and any discussions regarding a potential investment are "exploratory and preliminary in nature." ==Operations==