Hindenburg report designed to defame us, erode market value: Adani

Adani said typical short sellers target gains from financial markets. “This was different. It was a two-sided attack – a vague criticism of our financial standing and, at the same time, an information distortion campaign, dragging us into a political battlefield. The attack was a calculated strike two days before the closing of our Follow-on Public Offer,” Adani said at the annual general meeting of Adani Enterprises.

On January 24, 2023, Hindenburg came out with 106-page report alleging “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme” over the course of decades by the Adani group. Shares of Adani group companies came under heavy selling pressure on the stock exchanges and their market capitalization plunged steeply after the Hindenburg Research report came out. Adani group shares recovered later.

“Despite successfully raising Rs 20,000 crore through India’s largest ever FPO, we made the extraordinary decision to return the proceeds,” Adani said.

The Expert Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the allegations raised by the Hindenburg report and determine whether there was regulatory failure in dealing with the alleged contravention of the law, among other things, did not find any regulatory failure and stated that allegations made by the report were inferential and based on publicly available information.

“Our stand against the attack was further vindicated when the Supreme Court of India affirmed our actions. In addition, our commitment to operational excellence and transparent disclosures was validated not only by rating agencies and the well-informed financial community, but also by global investors like GQG Partners, TotalEnergies, IHC, QIA and the US Development Finance Corporation – all of whom chose to invest in us,” Adani said.

“In this situation, where most companies would have gone under, our liquidity became our greatest asset. To further augment our cash reserves, we raised an additional Rs 40,000 crore, comfortably covering the next two years of our debt repayment,” Adani said.

“This decisive action is a testimony to the great strength of your company. It restored market confidence – and we safeguarded our portfolio against any volatility by pre-paying Rs 17,500 crore in margin-linked financing,” he said.

“With our record results, robust cash positions and the lowest debt ratios in our history, our path ahead is illuminated with the promise of even greater accomplishments.

“The possibilities before us are immense. We are stronger than ever. And our best is yet to come,” Adani said.