Vedanta closes region's biggest high-yield bond

Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta Resources closed a $1.7 billion jumbo bond early Thursday morning the biggest high-yield bond from Asia ex-Japan. It was also the largest dollar bond from an Indian company.

Vedanta is London-listed but its operations are mostly located in India. It also has assets around the world, including Zambia, Australia, South Africa and Namibia. The company had acquired a 58.5% stake in Cairn India for $8.7 billion in 2011, as it sought to diversify from its metals business and into oil.

The proceeds from the bond will be used to take out a $1.35 billion 12-month bridge that matures next month. The bridge was taken...