Since Hindenburg Research's scathing report on January 24th, the combined market capitalisation m-cap of Adani group companies has recovered sharply, from a sub-Rs 7 lakh crore to near Rs 10 lakh crore-mark.
On a day when the US-based short seller said another big' report was coming, the Adani group commanded a m-cap of Rs 9,82, 502.50 crore against a sub-Rs 7 lakh m-cap on February 27.
The report has managed to keep group founder and Chairman Gautam Adani out of the top 20 billionaires. The group's m-cap is down 48 per cent from January 24's level of Rs 19,19,888 crore and requires group shares to double from here on to reach pre-Hindenburg levels. Adani is worth $58.9 billion as of last count. His personal wealth has rebounded sharply from a February 27 low of $37.7bn, but is down $61.7bn in 2023 so far.
The group's flagship, Adani Enterprises, has seen its shares increase by 79 per cent from its 52 week low of Rs 1,017. Adani Green Energy shares have gone up 123 per cent from a one-year low of Rs 439.35 on February 28. Adani Ports SEZ is up 68 per cent from February 3 low of Rs 394.95. Adani Transmission increased 72 per cent to Rs 1,084. It was 25 from a low of Rs 630 on March 1. Adani Total Gas hit a one-year low of 655 on the same day. Since then, the stock has gone up 50 per cent. Adani Wilmar shares have risen 31.03 per cent from a 52 week low of 327, up from a 52 week low of Rs 327. Adani Power shares have gone up 34.50 per cent in the last month.
Two months ago, a selloff in Gautam Adani's group shares was caused by the Nathan Anderson-led Hindenburg Research after it made several allegations including stock manipulation and accounting fraud at Adani group companies. The Adani group denied all allegations, but the group's market capitalisation took a beating. The Adani group took a lot of measures to reduce debt and allay investor concerns.
It sold 15,446 crore worth of shares in four of its companies and prepaid share-backed financing of Rs 7,374 crore $901.16 million to various international banks and Indian financial institutions. The group also held roadshows in Singapore, London, Hong Kong and Dubai. The group has also cancelled a 7,017 crore coal plant purchase and has abandoned plans to bid for a stake in power trader PTC India. It also went slow on a Rs 34,900 crore petrochemical project in Mundra.
The acquisition of Haifa Port in Israel was completed earlier in the day for $1.2 billion. Adani Enterprises acquired the 27.3 per cent stake in the media company in December 2022, which was acquired by Adani Enterprises. It also completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC from Switzerland's Holcim Group for $6.4 billion. The acquisitions raised concerns over the group's debt later, especially after Hindenburg's allegations.