Hindenburg Research, whose scathing report on Gautam Adani-led Adani group erased $150 billion of group market capitalisation within five weeks, is ready for a new report that the US-based short seller promises is a '' big one. It is not known whether the new report will be published on the Adani group or any other group or entity.
The tweet by Hindenburg Research came at a time when there are widespread concerns about the financial health of the banking system in the world. The SVB Bank collapsed while the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS was seen as a forced marriage. The new Hindenburg report comes in the wake of rising interest rates, with the US Federal Reserve raising its policy rate by 25 basis points overnight.
Two months ago, a little known Hindenburg Research, led by Nathan Anderson, triggered a selloff in Gautam Adani's group shares, after it made several allegations including stock manipulation and accounting fraud at Adani group companies. The group market capitalisation tanked as the Adani group denied all allegations, pushing Gautam Adani's wealth by $61.7 billion year-to-date. Adani was worth $58.90 billion at the last count, down from $150 billion in September last year.
It took several steps to reduce debt and allay investor concerns. Adani's group recently completed the acquisition of Haifa Port in Israel for $1.2 billion. In December 2022, Adani Enterprises acquired NDTV founders' 27.3 per cent stake in the media company. It completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC from Switzerland's Holcim Group for $6.4 billion. The recent acquisitions raised concerns about the group's debt later, especially after Hindenburg's allegations. The group has taken steps to address investor concerns.
S&P Global Ratings is closely monitoring the Adani Group governance and funding information in order to decide its ratings action.