The Adani Group has denied the allegations, saying the short seller's narrative of stock manipulation has "no basis" and stems from an ignorance of Indian law. MSCI defines the free float of a security as the proportion of shares outstanding that is considered available for purchase in public equity markets by international investor.
Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request
for comment.
In response to the MSCI statement, Hindenburg founder Nathan
Anderson wrote on Twitter: "We view this as validation of our
findings".
The report and its aftermath wiped out $110 billion off
Adani's seven main listed stocks in slightly more than a week,
and its flagship Adani Enterprises was forced to
abandon a $2.5 billion stock offering.
Some of the companies' shares had been rebounding this week
but they tumbled again on Thursday after the MSCI announcement.
Adani Enterprises shares sank 10% in morning trading after
recouping recent falls to multi-year lows.
Adani Transmission , Adani Total Gas and
Adani Power were each down 5%, while Adani Ports and
Special Economic Zone were down nearly 9%.
The short-selling attack and shelving of the share sale have
tarnished Adani's reputation. India's Securities and Exchange
Board of India regulator is investigating the market rout, a
person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters this
week.
Moody's rating firm has warned the share price declines
could hit the group's ability to raise capital, while India's
central bank is checking on lenders' exposure.
JPMorgan said on Tuesday that Adani group companies
remain eligible to be included in the bank's influential bond
indexes.
Hindenburg has said it had taken short positions in Adani's
U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian traded derivatives.
Adani companies said in filings on Tuesday the group was considering an independent evaluation of issues surrounding legal compliance, related party transactions and internal controls following the Hindenburg report. (Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney. Additional reporting by Chris Thomas and Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and William Mallard)
