Cairn-Vedanta deadline extended

Vedanta Resources and Cairn Energy on Thursday extended the deadline to seal a 9.6 billion deal by more than a month,a day after India deferred a decision,casting fresh doubt over how the long-pending deal would get through in its current form.

The Indian government on Wednesday stuck to its stance on royalties and referred the matter to a panel for further review,after discussing it in a meeting in which it was expected to make a final decision.

This deal has not gone anywhere even after eight months. I am getting to think that this deal will fall through, said Eric Mookherjee,the Paris-based chairman of Shanti Asset Management,which owns convertible bonds of Vedanta Resources.

It is not exactly positive for the potential foreign direct investment.

Cairn Energy shares were trading 2.4 percent lower in London trade by 1150 GMT while Vedanta was down 2.3 per cent.