Adani flagship rallies as group rebuts debt repayment reports

BLOOMBERG

Adani Group shares rose on Wednesday after the conglomerate rebutted reports about its ability to repay debt. The group’s flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd rallied 8.7% while Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd added 7.3% as both firms posted their biggest rally since GQG Partners’ stake in the companies earlier this month. Other group companies also gained, paring earlier losses spurred by reports from the Economic Times and The Ken.
The ports-to-power conglomerate denied the reports in separate statements, calling the Economic Times’ claims that the group is seeking to renegotiate the terms of $4 billion worth of loans “baseless speculation.” Later in the day, the company addressed The Ken report, saying it had paid off share-backed financing amounting to $2.15 billion and that the stock pledged for those facilities had been released.
The latest reports come at an inopportune time for billionaire Gautam Adani’s empire. They cast doubt on the group’s ability to raise funds when it is attempting to rebuild trust after short seller Hindenburg Research’s report alleging fraud wiped out more than $150 billion from its market value at one point.
“The company is doing the right thing by clarifying on newsflow, which is important,” said Alok Churiwala, managing director of Mumbai-based Churiwala Securities Pvt. “They are ticking all the right boxes by making their communication clear. Investors are still shaky about Adani stocks and we can see this lack of confidence as shares are reacting to every media report.”
Of 15 Adani dollar bonds of tracked by Bloomberg, 10 fell in Hong Kong. Adani International Container Terminal’s February 2031 notes declined 0.5 cents to 75.1 cents to the lowest since early February. Adani Ports’ bonds due in February 2031 slipped 0.2 cents.
The conglomerate has been in a damage-repair mode since Hindenburg released its explosive report on January 24 alleging accounting fraud and share price manipulation. To appease investors, the group was compelled to cancel a share sale, abandon some acquisition opportunities, raise money, prepay debt, and perform roadshows around the world.
Despite the fact that these actions have helped the organisation recoup some of the lost market value this month, it still has to deal with a court-ordered regulatory investigation and lingering concerns about whether it has adequately addressed all of the short seller’s concerns.
Shares of Adani Ports dropped below the price paid by GQG Partners for acquiring a minor holding earlier this month. All four stocks, in which the emerging-market investor has bought stakes, are now trading above their respective purchase prices. The group’s combined market value at one point climbed above $111 billion on Wednesday.