Adani Group says Hindenburg Research's negative report timed to damage Adani Enterprises FPO

"We are shocked that Hindenburg Research has published a report on 24 January 2023 without making any attempt to contact us or verify the factual matrix. The report is a malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations that have been tested and rejected by India’s highest courts," Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh said in a statement.

Singh said the timing of the report’s publication clearly betrays a brazen, mala fide intention to undermine the Adani Group’s reputation with the principal objective of damaging the upcoming FPO from Adani Enterprises, the biggest FPO ever in India.

"The investor community has always reposed faith in the Adani Group on the basis of detailed analysis and reports prepared by financial experts and leading national and international credit rating agencies. Our informed and knowledgeable investors are not influenced by one-sided, motivated and unsubstantiated reports with vested interests," the statement said.

The Group has always been in compliance with all laws, regardless of jurisdiction, and maintains the highest standards of corporate governance, Singh said.

Despite the negative report, Adani Enterprises raised Rs 5,985 crore by allotting shares to anchor investors ahead of the follow-on public offer (FPO), Economic Times reported.

The Adani Group’s flagship company allotted 1,82,68,925 shares to over 30 institutional investors at Rs 3,276 a share, the upper end of the FPO price band of Rs 3,112-3,276 a share, said the report.

According to an ET report, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Maybank Asia, Goldman Sachs, Nomura Financial, Societe Generale, Jupiter, BNP Paribas, Al Mehwar, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley have been allotted the stocks.

The anchor book for Adani Enterprises Ltd. was oversubscribed by 1.8-2 times, Bloomberg had reported.

This came despite the negative report given by US-based Hindenburg Research. It claimed that the 7 key listed companies of the group are "85%+ overvalued even if you ignore our investigation and take the companies’ financials at face value."

Bids for smaller potential investors will be open from Jan 27 to Jan 31.

Post the report, Adani Group stocks tanked up to 10% during the day.