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Business

Adani’s market losses top $100 billion as shelved share sale spooks investors

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NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Feb 2 (Reuters) – India’s Adani group shares sank on Thursday after it abandoned its flagship company’s $2.5 billion stock offering, swelling the conglomerate’s market losses to more than $100 billion and sparking worries about the potential systemic impact.

The withdrawal of Adani Enterprises’ (ADEL.NS) share sale caps a dramatic setback for Gautam Adani, the school dropout-turned-billionaire whose fortunes rose rapidly in recent years but dwindled over the past one week after a U.S.-based short-seller published a critical research report.

The events are an embarrassing turn for Adani who has forged partnerships with foreign giants such as France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and investors such as Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company as he pursues a global expansion of businesses that stretch from ports and mining to cement and power.

Adani late on Wednesday called off the share sale as a stocks rout sparked by short-seller Hindenburg’s criticisms intensified, despite the offer being fully subscribed on Tuesday.

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Adani Enterprises plunged nearly 20% on Thursday, trading at its lowest since March 2022. Other group companies were also under pressure – Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) was down 5%, while Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) lost 10% each.

Since Hindenburg’s report was released on Jan. 24, group companies have lost nearly half their combined market value. Adani Enterprises – described as an incubator of Adani’s businesses – alone has lost $24 billion in market capitalisation.

Adani, 60, is also no longer Asia’s richest person, having slid in the rankings of the world’s wealthiest to 16th, as per Forbes’ list, from third last week.

Reuters Graphics

“Unless Adani is able to regain the confidence of institutional investors, stocks will be in freefall,” said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Mumbai-based Profitmart Securities.

Adani’s plummeting stocks have raised concerns about the likelihood of a wider impact on India’s financial system.

India’s central bank has asked local banks for details of their exposure to the Adani group of companies, government and banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. CLSA estimates that Indian banks were exposed to about 40% of the 2 trillion rupees ($24.53 billion) of Adani group’s debt in the fiscal year to March 2022. read more

Citigroup’s (C.N) wealth unit has stopped extending margin loans to its clients against securities of Adani group and decided to cut the loan-to-value ratio for credit against Adani securities to zero on Thursday, said a source.

“We see the market is losing confidence on how to gauge where the bottom can be and although there will be short-covering rebounds, we expect more fundamental downside risks given more private banks (are) likely to cut or reduce margin,” Monica Hsiao, Chief Investment Officer of Hong Kong-based credit fund Triada Capital, said.

In New Delhi, opposition lawmakers submitted notices in the Indian parliament, demanding discussion on the U.S. short-seller’s report. The Congress party demanded setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a Supreme Court monitored investigation into the matter.

ADANI VS HINDENBURG

Hindenburg’s report last week alleged an improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the Adani group. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.

The Adani group has denied the accusations, saying the short-seller’s allegation of stock manipulation has “no basis” and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. The group has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures, it added.

Earlier this week, the Adani group said it had the complete support of investors, but investor confidence has tapered in recent days.

As shares plunged after the Hindenburg report publication, Adani managed to secure the share sale subscriptions on Tuesday even though the stock’s market price was below the issue’s offer price. But on Wednesday, stocks plunged again.

Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, as well as India’s Life Insurance Corporation (LIFI.NS), had bid for the anchor portion of the issue. Those investments will now be returned by Adani.

In a late night announcement on Wednesday, the billionaire said he was withdrawing the share sale as the company’s “stock price has fluctuated over the course of the day. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the company’s board felt that going ahead with the issue will not be morally correct.”

Early on Thursday, Adani said in a video address the “interest of my investors is paramount and everything is secondary. Hence, to insulate the investors from potential losses we have withdrawn” the share sale.

Reporting by Chris Thomas, Nallur Sethuraman, Tanvi Madan, Ira Dugal, Aftab Ahmed, Sumeet Chatterjee, Anshuman Daga, Summer Zhen; Writing by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Adani’s $2.5 bln share offer backed by investors, despite short-seller attack

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MUMBAI, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s $2.5 billion share sale inched closer to full subscription on Tuesday as investors pumped in funds after a tumultuous week for his group in which its stocks were pummeled by a scathing short-seller report.

The secondary share sale of flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) was subscribed 93% on Tuesday, including the anchor investor portion, Indian stock exchange data showed. The share sale needed at least 90% subscription to go through.

By Monday, the book building process of the country’s largest share sale had received only 3% in bids, amid swirling concerns that the share sale could struggle due to a market rout in Adani’s stocks in recent days.

The share sale is critical for Adani, not just because it is India’s largest follow-on offering and will help cut debt, but also because its success will be seen as a stamp of confidence by investors at a time the tycoon faces one of his biggest business and reputational challenges of recent times.

The offer closes days after Adani’s public faceoff with Hindenburg Research, which on Jan. 24 flagged concerns about the use of tax havens and “substantial debt” at the group. It added that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called “sky-high valuations”.

That has since sparked $65 billion in cumulative losses for stocks of the Adani group, which called the report baseless.

The support for Adani’s share sale came even as the flagship’s shares were trading at 2,967 rupees, up nearly 2.5% but below the lower end of the share sale price band of 3,112 rupees.

“It looks down to the wire with just a few hours remaining on the last day, but the offering should go through. Institutions seem to be subscribing to capitalise on opportunity to buy in bulk quantities outside the open market,” said Dipan Mehta, founder director of Elixir Equities.

Adani Group’s total gross debt in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees ($26.83 billion). Adani said on Sunday – while responding to Hindenburg’s allegations – that over the past decade the group has “consistently de-levered”. Hindenburg later said Adani’s “response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions.”

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The group had in recent days repeatedly said investors were standing by its side and the share offering would go through, amid rising concerns that may not happen. Bankers at one point had considered tweaking the pricing of the issue, or extending the sale, Reuters had reported.

Adani even said the Hindenburg report was a “calculated attack” on the country and its institutions while its CFO compared the market rout of its stocks to a colonial-era massacre.

Demand from retail investors remained muted, garnering bids only worth around 10% of the shares on offer for that segment. On Tuesday, demand mostly came from foreign institutional investors, as well as corporates who bid in excess of 1 million rupees each, data showed.

Over the weekend and through Monday, Adani’s firm held extensive discussions with investment bankers and institutional investors to attract subscriptions, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC.AD) said it will invest $400 million in the issue.

“The follow-on public offering has to go through to restore investor confidence,” said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The Hindenburg report and its fallout have drawn global attention. Adani is now the world’s eighth richest person, down from third ranking on Forbes’ rich list last week.

Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) rose 1.6% on Tuesday, after losing 38% since the Hindenburg report, while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) climbed 3.2%.

Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) languished at its 10% lower price limit, while Adani Power (ADAN.NS) and Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS) were down 5% each.

Reuters Graphics

Global index publisher FTSE Russell said on Tuesday it continues to monitor publicly available information on the group, in particular from the Indian regulatory authorities.

Hindenburg said in its report it had shorted U.S.-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group. On Tuesday, U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone continued their fall into a second week.

($1 = 82.0025 Indian rupees)

Reporting by M. Sriram and Chris Thomas; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Muralikumar Anantharaman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Adani’s $2.5 billion share sale faces crucial day after rout

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NEW DELHI, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Gautam Adani faces a critical day on Monday with his flagship company’s $2.5 billion share sale’s second day of bidding overshadowed by a $48 billion rout in the Indian billionaire’s stocks which was sparked by a U.S. short seller’s report.

Seven listed companies belonging to the Adani conglomerate, which is led by Asia’s richest man, saw sharp falls in their values after Hindenburg Research report last week flagged concerns about high debt levels and the use of tax havens.

Adani Group issued a detailed response late on Sunday, saying it complies with all local laws and had made necessary regulatory disclosures. It has called the report baseless and said it was considering taking action against Hindenburg.

For 60-year-old Adani, the stock market meltdown has been a dramatic setback for a school-dropout who rose swiftly in recent years to become the world’s third richest man, before slipping to rank seventh on the Forbes list last week.

The secondary share sale by Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) opened for retail and institutional investors on Friday, but saw only 1% subscriptions as the company’s stock fell 11% below the minimum offer price.

Adani Group told Reuters in a statement on Saturday that the sale remains on schedule at the planned issue price, even as sources said bankers on the country’s largest secondary share sale were considering extending the timeline beyond Jan. 31, or tweaking the price due to the fall in its share price.

“It is important for the Adani Group to ensure the share sale goes through — If they stick to the price and don’t reduce it, and the stock doesn’t bounce back, nobody will be keen to apply,” said Mumbai-based market analyst, Ambareesh Baliga, who advises various family offices.

“Monday’s trade will be critical.”

In a separate statement on Sunday, Adani Group’s chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said it is focused on the share sale and is confident it will sail through. He also said its anchor investors have shown faith and remain invested.

‘FREE FALL’

Some Adani Group stocks have surged more than 1,500% in the last three years amid aggressive expansion in businesses that include ports, power generation, airports and mining.

Adani Enterprises has set a floor price of 3,112 rupees per share and a cap of 3,276 rupees for the secondary share sale – well above their close of 2,761.45 rupees on Friday.

Arun Kejriwal, founder of Kejriwal Research & Investment, said investors were likely to wait until the last day of the share sale to see if the price band is tweaked.

“I expect that the free fall seen of Friday may abate but recovery back towards a level prior to this fall may be difficult,” he added.

Indian regulations say the share offering must receive minimum subscription of 90%, and if it does not the issuer must refund the entire amount.

Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are among investors who bid for the anchor portion of the issue.

On Saturday, index provider MSCI said it was seeking feedback from market participants on Adani and was monitoring the factors that “may impact the eligibility of those relevant securities” in MSCI indexes.

There are at least six Adani Group companies in the MSCI India Index, with a cumulative weight of 4.31%.

Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Ira Dugal, Jayshree P Upadhyay and Chris Thomas; Editing by Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Business

Gautam Adani’s business loses $50 billion in market value after short seller report

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New Delhi
CNN
 — 

The value of Gautam Adani’s business empire has crashed by more than $50 billion this week since Hindenburg Research, a US firm that makes money from short selling, published a blistering report accusing it of fraud.

India’s Adani Group has denounced Hindenburg’s allegations as “baseless” and “malicious,” and it is considering legal action. But the sharp sell-off in shares, which began Wednesday, accelerated Friday after US hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman said he found the short seller’s report credible.

Hindenburg Research published an investigation on Adani’s conglomerate late on Tuesday, accusing it of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.” It said it had taken a short position in Adani Group companies, meaning it would benefit from a drop in their value.

Shares of those companies — some of which had surged over 500% in the last few years — plunged when India’s stock market opened Wednesday. The rout resumed Friday when trading resumed following a market holiday on Thursday.

Shares of Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas and Adani Green Energy — three of the group’s seven listed companies — were down 20% each on Friday, while shares of Adani Enterprises, the conglomerate’s flagship company, fell 18%. Friday’s losses wiped out almost $39 billion in market value.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Adani is still Asia’s richest man with a personal fortune worth $113 billion, $30 billion more than fellow Indian entrepreneur Mukesh Ambani. Friday’s losses will reduce that gap.

Hindenburg said Thursday that it stood fully by its report and believed any legal action would be “meritless.”

“If Adani is serious, it should also file suit in the US where we operate. We have a long list of documents we would demand in a legal discovery process,” the short seller said in a post on Twitter.

Hindenburg isn’t the first research firm to express concern about the finances of Adani’s sprawling empire, which has borrowed $30 billion to become established in industries ranging from logistics to mining, and is aggressively growing in diverse sectors such as media, data centers, airports and cement.

Ackman weighed into the debate on Twitter Thursday, saying he found the Hindenburg investigation “highly credible and extremely well researched.”

“We are not invested long or short in any of the Adani companies … nor have we done our own independent research,” Ackman added.

Hindenburg’s claims come at a sensitive time. Adani Enterprises is aiming to raise 200 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) by issuing new shares this month. The offer will close on Tuesday.

A college dropout and a self-made industrialist, Adani is the world’s fourth richest man, ahead of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. He is also seen as a close ally of India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.

The 60-year old tycoon founded the Adani group over 30 years ago.



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