Indian conglomerate Vedanta will break into five listed companies next month, founder Anil Agarwal announced, calling it a transformative move to unlock value. The Mumbai-based group, with an enterprise value of $37 billion, has been restructuring for years to reduce its $11 billion debt burden. Agarwal projects the new entities could be worth as much as $50 billion collectively.

Under the plan, standalone companies will be created for aluminium, zinc, oil and gas, steel, and power. The restructuring faced opposition from the Indian government but cleared legal hurdles late last year. A private parent company controlled by Agarwal will retain about half the shares in each new entity, which will collectively carry $7 billion in debt.

The timing comes amid global energy volatility, with Agarwal urging India to boost domestic oil and gas production. Vedanta's subsidiary Cairn Oil and Gas aims to double output to 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day within six years. The split represents a major shakeup for one of India's largest resource companies as it seeks to streamline operations and capitalize on high commodity prices.