Indian billionaire Gautam Adani attends the 51st Gems and Jewellery Awards in Jaipur, India, November 30, 2024.
Stringer | Reuters
Adani Enterprises on Tuesday announced plans to raise 250 billion rupees ($2.8 billion) through a rights issue of shares as it seeks to move on from the controversy that erupted the last time it announced an equity fundraise.
Adani Enterprises — which serves as the Adani Group’s flagship company and in-house business incubator — raised 210 billion rupees in 2023, but the funds were returned to investors after U.S.-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of corporate governance issues and stock price manipulation.
The claims made in the Hindenburg report led to a sharp correction of stock prices of Adani Group companies, many of which have now recovered.
At the time, Adani Group called Hindenburg’s report a “malicious combination of selective misinformation,” adding that it has “always been in compliance with all laws.”
On Sept. 18 of this year, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India said its inquiry did not reveal any violation of regulatory norms by Adani group companies and dismissed the allegations made by the U.S. short seller.
Proceeds from the latest rights Issue will be used by the company to strengthen its balance sheet and support its incubation activities, the company said in a release on Tuesday.
Among its incubation businesses is Adani’s data center division, which recently announced plans to develop India’s largest AI data center campus and new green energy infrastructure in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in partnership with Google.
Shares of Adani Enterprises ended down 2.7% on Tuesday.
