The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

New Delhi:

Adani group stocks rallied on Thursday after Hindenburg Research, which made international waves with campaigns targeting billionaire Gautam Adani that wiped billions from market value of his group companies, founder Nate Anderson announced its shutdown.

Shares of NDTV surged 9.15 per cent, Ambuja Cements jumped 3.88 per cent, Adani Green Energy rallied 3.35 per cent, Sanghi Industries climbed 3.34 per cent and Adani Power went up by 2.45 per cent on the BSE.

The stock of Adani Ports advanced 2.03 per cent, Adani Total Gas (1.78 per cent), Adani Enterprises (1.74 per cent), Adani Energy Solutions (1.54 per cent) and ACC (0.77 per cent).

Shares of Adani Wilmar, however, declined 1.19 per cent.

In intra-day trade, NDTV zoomed 15.59 per cent, Adani Power surged 9.21 per cent, Adani Green Energy soared 8.86 per cent, Adani Enterprises climbed 7.72 per cent, Adani Total Gas jumped 7.10 per cent and Adani Energy Solutions advanced 6.63 per cent The stock of Adani Ports climbed 5.48 per cent, Ambuja Cements jumped 4.55 per cent, ACC increased by 4.14 per cent, Sanghi Industries (3.77 per cent) and Adani Wilmar (0.54 per cent).

The combined market valuation of all 11 group firms stood at Rs 12.92 lakh crore.

The announcement by Anderson, 40, who started Hindenburg in 2017, came just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration as the new President of the United States.

While he cited the toll of the “rather intense, and at times, all encompassing” nature of the work as the reason for his decision”, critics were quick to link the shutting down Hindenburg’s alleged ties with George Soros and the so-called deep state being under significant pressure from the incoming Trump administration.

Typically, short-sellers like Anderson, who managed his firm’s own money but not that of others, bet against companies they believe are plagued with mismanagement or involved in some fraud/scam. Short sellers borrow a stock to sell it in the expectation the price will fall, then repurchase the shares and pocket the difference. They book loss if the reverse happens.

Hindenburg in January 2023 published a report accusing the Adani group of “pulling the largest con in the corporate history”, wiping out more than USD 150 billion in value of the group’s shares at their lowest point. Adani group vehemently denied all the allegations, including that being “engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades” and improper use of offshore tax havens to shore up group share prices.

“There is not one specific thing – no particular threat, no health issue and no big personal issue,” Anderson wrote in a letter posted on the firm’s website. “The intensity and focus has come at the cost of missing a lot of the rest of the world and the people I care about. I now view Hindenburg as a chapter in my life, not a central thing that defines me.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

A man walks past a corporate office of Adani Group in Gurugram, India, November 22, 2024. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Shares of all 11 listed Adani Group firms rallied in morning trade on Friday (November 29, 2024), with Adani Green Energy surging nearly 15%.

Shares of Ambuja Cements went up by 2.90%, Sanghi Industries (2.44%), Adani Ports (2.25%), Adani Wilmar (2.24%), Adani Enterprises (2.11%) and ACC (1.34%).

The BSE benchmark Sensex traded 688.31 points higher at 79,732.05 and the NSE Nifty jumped 192.65 points to 24,106.80.

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC), one of the largest sovereign funds that manages assets close to $100 billion, has reaffirmed its support to the Adani Group, saying its outlook on investments in the group remains unchanged despite the U.S. indictment of the conglomerate’s founder chairman Gautam Adani.

“Our partnership with the Adani Group reflects our confidence in their contributions to the green energy and sustainability sectors,” IHC, one of Adani group’s key foreign investors, said in a statement.

“As with all our investments, our team continues to evaluate relevant information and developments. At this time, our outlook on these investments remains unchanged.” The IHC statement comes soon after Adani group emphasised that its chairman and his aides have not been charged under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act but faced three other charges, including securities and wire fraud that are punishable with monetary fines.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (U.S. DoJ) indictment filed in a New York Court last week does not mention Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, his nephew Sagar or Vneet Jaain in any count related to conspiracy to violate the FCPA, AGEL – the firm at the heart of allegation of $265 million bribes allegedly being paid to Indian officials to secure solar power sale contracts that could benefit bring in $2 billion of profits more than 20 year period to the firm, had said in a filing to the stock exchange.

Adani Group last week denied all allegations as baseless and said it would seek legal recourse to defend itself.

Meanwhile, other international partners have also expressed their continued support. The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has expressed its ongoing confidence in its partnership with Adani, as the Indian group plays a vital role in expanding the country’s port infrastructure.

Also, the Tanzanian government has reaffirmed its commitment to its agreements with Adani Ports, as it feels that there are no concerns regarding the ongoing projects and that all contracts fully comply with Tanzanian law.

In May 2024, Tanzania and Adani Ports finalised a 30-year concession agreement to operate Container Terminal 2 at Dar es Salaam port.