Ashurst and Khaitan & Co are advising India's Vedanta Resources Plc. on a $2.3 billion combination of two of its subsidiaries.

Mining company Vedanta Ltd. is acquiring oil and gas-focused Cairn India Ltd. in an all-share deal. The transaction, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal gives the debt-laden buyer, which currently owes $8.5 billion to creditors, access to Cairn's $2.7 billion in cash reserves. The move is also part of a broader restructuring at Vedanta Resources that started in 2011, bringing the company's four majority-owned subsidiaries down from nine.