(Recasts with withdrawal of Adani's share sale)
MUMBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group called off
its $2.5 billion share sale late on Wednesday, in a dramatic
reversal triggered by the ongoing meltdown of its company stock
prices.
Hindenburg Research criticised the Indian conglomerate in a
Jan. 24 report ahead of the Adani Enterprises share sale,
setting off an $86 billion rout in the group's domestically
listed stocks and a sell-off in its bonds listed overseas.
Here are some of the points raised and the Adani Group's
responses.
WHO ARE ADANI AND HINDENBURG?
Gautam Adani, from Gujarat in western India, built his
empire after starting out as a commodities trader. India's Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is from the same state and their
relationship has long come under scrutiny by Modi's opponents.
A school drop-out, Adani rose to become Asia's richest man
whose $220 billion empire spans ports, power generation,
airports, mining, edible oils, renewables, media and cement.
Until last week, Adani was the world's third-richest man but
has dropped down the ranks to number 15 on the Forbes rich list
after the rout in Adani group stocks.
Founded in 2017 by Nathan Anderson, Hindenburg Research is a
forensic financial research firm which analyses equity, credit
and derivatives. It has a track-record of finding corporate
wrongdoings and placing bets against the companies.
WHAT DID HINDENBURG SAY?
Hindenburg disclosed that it holds short positions in Adani
companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded
derivatives.
It released a report alongside the disclosure alleging
improper use of tax havens and flagging concerns about debt
levels.
WHAT WAS ADANI'S RESPONSE?
The Adani group has called the report baseless and termed
the allegations "unsubstantiated speculations".
IS THIS THE FIRST TIME THESE ISSUES HAVE BEEN RAISED?
No. India's capital markets regulator, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India, has investigated some of these issues
over the past year following local media reports.
Reuters reported the regulator will continue this scrutiny
and draw on any fresh information in the Hindenburg report.
The regulator has launched a "full-scale" investigation into
the recent crash in shares of Adani Group companies and is also
looking into any possible irregularities in the $2.5 billion
share sale, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
WHAT DOES HINDENBURG SAY ABOUT FINANCIAL CONTROLS?
The short-seller has said that listed Adani companies have
seen a number of changes in chief financial officers (CFOs) and
that auditors used by the group are relatively unknown.
It said Adani Enterprises has had five chief financial
officers over the course of eight years, citing this aS "a key
red flag indicating potential accounting issues".
HOW HAS ADANI RESPONDED?
The Adani group said that several of the CFOs that the
Hindenburg report points to have remained within the group and
moved on to new roles.
On the quality of audits, it said that the audit committee
of each of the listed companies is composed entirely of
independent directors, and auditors are appointed on their
recommendation.
On Tuesday, Mint newspaper reported that Adani is
considering an independent audit of group companies to resassure
investors. Reuters could not independently verify this.
Late on Wednesday, Adani Enterprises called off its $2.5
billion share sale in a dramatic reversal as a rout sparked by a
U.S. short-seller's criticisms wiped billions more off the value
of the Indian tycoon's stocks.
HINDENBURG'S VIEW OF ADANI'S LEVERAGE AND WHAT IS THE
GROUP'S RESPONSE?
The report says key listed Adani companies have substantial
debt and are over-leveraged. It also says the group faces
liquidity risks due to high short term liabilities, with five of
the seven key listed companies having reported "current ratios"
below 1, indicating near-term liquidity pressure.
Adani responded by saying leverage ratios of its companies
continue to be healthy and are in line with the industry
benchmarks of the respective sectors, further adding that this
information is publicly disclosed regularly.
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Adani Group's ballooning debt ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Writing by Ira Dugal; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and
Alexander Smith)
