New Delhi: A day after Hindenburg Research’s controversial report on Adani sent the companies’ shares tumbling, billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate on Thursday said it is considering legal action against the US short-seller.
“We are evaluating the relevant provisions under US and Indian laws for remedial and punitive action against Hindenburg Research,” said Jatin Jalundhwala, Group Head – Legal, Adani.
The Hindenburg report has alleged accounting fraud and stock manipulation by Adani group claiming it had carried out investigations for two years into the affairs of the corporate giant.
Adani Group has dismissed the report and termed it as “malicious combination of selective misinformation’.
All Adani Group companies listed on the BSE closed in red on Wednesday with the stock falling in the range of 1.54 pc to 8.06 pc. Adani Transmission was the worst-hit during the day with shares tanking as much as 8.06 pc to Rs 2534.10 a piece on the BSE. Adani Wilmar was down 5 pc.
In its report, Hindenburg Research claimed that its findings are based on a two-year investigation which involved speaking with dozens of individuals, including former senior executives of the Adani Group, reviewing thousands of documents, and conducting diligence site visits in almost half a dozen countries.
“Today we reveal the findings of our 2-year investigation, presenting evidence that the INR 17.8 trillion (U.S. $218 billion) Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades,” said Hindenburg Research report in its January 24 report.
It further said, “Gautam Adani, Founder and Chairman of the Adani Group, has amassed a net worth of roughly $120 billion, adding over $100 billion in the past 3 years largely through stock price appreciation in the group’s 7 key listed companies, which have spiked an average of 819% in that period.”
Vehemently questioning the report, Adani Group in its official statement said that 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 Follow-on Public Offering (FPO) from Adani Enterprises.
“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 business conglomerate had said on Wednesday.
Adani Group today said that the report published by Hindenburg Research has adversely affected it, its shareholders and investors.
“The volatility in Indian stock markets created by the report is of great concern and has led to unwanted anguish for Indian citizens,” it stated.
The statement further said, “We are deeply disturbed by this intentional and reckless attempt by a foreign entity to mislead the investor community and the general public, undermine the goodwill and reputation of the Adani Group and its leaders, and sabotage the FPO (Follow-on Public Offering) from Adani Enterprises.”
