Vedanta listing: Why its aluminium business is the undisputed crown jewel of the mega 4-way demerger

Vedanta's four-way demerger, with market debut set for June 15, positions its aluminium business (VAML) as the 'crown jewel' of the group. ICICI Securities, with a Buy rating and Rs 855 target on the combined entity, ascribes Rs 398/share SOTP value to aluminium versus Rs 323/share for Zinc India. VAML commands 55-60% domestic market share with 2.88 MTPA capacity (targeting 6 MTPA), is in the first quartile of the global cost curve, and reported FY2026 OPBITDA of ~Rs 25,500 crore at ~$1,158/tonne, with ICRA projecting OPBDITA/tonne to exceed $1,250 in FY2027. Nuvama estimates ~Rs 1,300 crore in passive inflows if VAML is included in the Nifty Next 50 at ~3.4% weight.