Adani shares fall amid plans to raise funds

15.05.2023

The group’s incubator for new ventures, fell 4.4 percent, its biggest intraday drop since May 3. The company was allowed to raise up to 125 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) through a qualified institutional offering or other means, according to a stock exchange document filed Saturday. Adani Transmission Ltd. could raise up to 85 billion rupees in a similar way, the utility said separately. The company’s shares, which fell last week as global index provider MSCI Inc. decided to delist it from India, lost 4.6 percent in early trading in Mumbai.

Adani’s fundraising plans come at a time when the port and energy conglomerate is pursuing a comeback strategy after allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulation by Hindenburg Research, a U.S. firm, came out in late January. Although the group denies the allegations, it has since been in damage repair mode and has been trying to win back investors through roadshows and early debt repayments.

Adani Total Gas Ltd., which is also due to be removed from the MSCI rating later this month, was another big loser Monday, falling 4.9 percent.

Market watchers wonder about the price of any stock deals, given that Adani Enterprises shares are trading at about half the price they were at the beginning of the year, when the flagship was planning to raise 200 billion rupees through an additional share sale. The company declined to float shares amid the downturn caused by the Hindenburg report.

Adani Group’s total market capitalization of 10 shares is down about $121 billion from its level before the sensational Jan. 24 report. At one point, the sell-off caused the group’s stock price to drop by more than $150 billion.

Adani shares rose after U.S. firm GQG Partners bought stakes in four of the group’s companies from the Adani family for $1.9 billion in early March.