KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani has decided against bidding for a stake in state-backed energy trading firm Power Trading Corporation, said a report on Monday.
Amid the massive fallout from US short seller Hindenburg Research's scathing report, the conglomerate is looking to preserve cash, reported Bloomberg.
State-owned entities NTPC Ltd, NHPC Ltd, Power Grid Corp of India Ltd and Power Finance Corp Ltd are working with an adviser to weigh selling their stakes of around 4% each, with bids due as soon as the end of the month, Bloomberg reported last month.
PTC India, which also counts Life Insurance Corp of India and Damodar Valley Corp among its shareholders, has a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 2,500 crore. A 16% stake in PTC India could be valued at Rs 415 crore, according to latest prices.
The report comes days after Adani Power's planned Rs 7,017-crore acquisition of coal-based electricity generating units of DB Power Ltd has fallen as the deadline to complete the transaction expired without signing of the pact.
In its January report, Hindenburg alleged accounting fraud and stock manipulation, allegations that the group has vehemently denied.
The report, which flagged high debt including pledging shares of inflated stock for loans, put the entire group on precarious financial footing.
Since the January 24 report, the group companies have seen half of their market value wiped out and the conglomerate having to pledge more shares to meet lending norms. It also called off a follow-on share sale at its flagship firm, Adani Enterprises Ltd that barely scraped through on the last day of the sale.
The acquisition of DB Power, which currently operates a 2x600 MW coal-fired power plant in Janjgir Champa district in Chhattisgarh, was expected to expand Adani Power's offerings and operations in the thermal power sector in the state.
DB Power has long and medium-term power purchase agreements for 923.5 MW of its capacity, backed by fuel supply agreements with Coal India Ltd. It had recorded a turnover of Rs 3,488 crore for the financial year 2022.
With inputs from agencies