Adani says $2.5b share sale on track as bankers mull changes

Bankers may extend sale or cut issue price after Adani shares plunged

MUMBAI:

A $2.5 billion share sale by India’s Adani Enterprises remains on schedule at the planned issue price, the company told Reuters on Saturday, while sources said bankers were considering changes due to a market rout in the group’s shares.

Bankers on the deal were considering extending the sale or cutting the issue price after shares of Adani plunged following a report from a US short seller, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Adani Group in a statement said: “There is no change in either the schedule or the issue price.” “All our stakeholders including bankers and investors have full faith in the FPO (Follow on Public Offer). We are extremely confident about the success of the FPO,” it said.

Seven listed companies of the conglomerate controlled by one of the world’s richest men, Gautam Adani, have lost a combined $48 billion in market value since Hindenburg Research on Tuesday flagged concerns about debt levels and their use of tax havens. The Adani Group has called the report baseless and said it was considering taking action against Hindenburg.

Sources had said that among the options the bankers were considering included extending the Tuesday subscription closing date by four days. Friday’s 20% fall in shares of group flagship Adani Enterprises dragged it 11% below the minimum offer price of the secondary sale. On the first day of retail bidding on Friday, the issue attracted around 1% of its targeted number of subscribers, raising concerns over whether it would be able to proceed. Investors, mostly retail, had bid for around 470,160 of the 45.5 million shares on offer, stock exchange data showed. “Everyone was shocked. They did not expect such a poor response,” one source said.