Adani tries to woo bankers with three-day tour after short seller attack

Indian tycoon Gautam Adani has invited bankers on a three-day trip next month to tour his group’s prized assets and restore confidence after a short seller accused his group of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation.

Adani has given lenders a chance to tour the new airport being built by his group outside India’s financial capital Mumbai, as well as port and energy facilities at Mundra in Gujarat state, from June 8 to 10. financial Times.

According to the invitation email, the guests have been invited to meet and dine with senior executives of the Adani Group at a five-star hotel near Mumbai’s international airport. Two people familiar with the matter confirmed details of the itinerary in Mumbai and Mundra. Adani declined to comment.

New York-based short seller Hindenburg Research published its report in January that wiped off more than $100 billion from the market value of the Indian conglomerate’s listed companies, the first of its kind initiative conducted by Adani.

The port-to-power group, which denied the allegations, has since been forced to slow spending on new businesses and focus on reducing its debt pile, which at the start of the year stood at around €30 billion. Dollar was

Adani’s rapid expansion over the past decade has been supported by loans from global banks including Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered. Following the short seller’s report, analysts warned that it could become more difficult for the group to secure financing from global institutions due to corporate governance concerns.

“Even the banks would have become more cautious now that the controversy is underway,” said Arun Kumar, a retired professor of economics at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. “I think Adani will do everything possible to mend the relationship and to remove the uncertainty surrounding his group at this time.”

A person close to the company said Adani had hosted similar events prior to the Hindenburg report and subsequent sell-off, albeit during the pandemic.

The invitation also comes as two Adani companies – power unit Adani Transmission and flagship Adani Enterprises – are seeking to raise a combined $2.5 billion by issuing shares in a private placement or through other means. The companies’ boards approved the plan last Saturday.

Earlier this year, after the release of the Hindenburg Report, Adani Enterprises had to call off a $2.4 billion fundraise.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the country’s securities regulator, is probing Adani over the allegations in the report, and the Supreme Court has appointed a panel to monitor its progress.

The Supreme Court had in March given Sebi two months to complete its probe, but the regulator sought more time. Sebi said in an affidavit this week that “premature conclusion of the matter without complete facts . . . would be legally untenable”.

Opposition leaders have criticized the delay, and Supreme Court judges on Wednesday asked Sebi to complete the probe by August 14, Reuters reported.