Hindenburg report aimed at damaging our reputation, driving down our stock prices: Gautam Adani at AGM 2023

Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday said that the Hindenburg report, which was released in January 2023, was a combination of targeted misinformation aimed at damaging Adani Group's image.

He added that the report was aimed at damaging the conglomerate's reputation and generating a profit by driving down its stock prices.

Speaking at the group's Annual General Meeting for 2023, Adani said US-based short seller Hindenburg Research's report released just before the follow on public offer was a deliberate attempt at damaging the company's image.

"The report by Hindenburg was a malicious attempt aimed at damaging Adani and the group's image. Subsequently, despite a fully subscribed FPO, we decided to return the money to investors to protect their interests," Adani said.

It is to be noted that Hindenburg Research in its scathing report alleged accounting fraud and stock price manipulation at Adani Group. This led to a massive downfall for Adani Group stocks that had erased about $145 billion in the conglomerate's market value at its lowest point.

Watch: Adani Enterprises AGM: Gautam Adani outlines Adani Green Energy, Adani Ports, NDTV other group firms' business plans; hits at Hindenburg report, says 'confident of our governance'

Earlier, the Adani Group had denied all allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research and claimed that “vested interests" tried to exploit the claims made by Hindenburg.

On Tuesday, Adani added: "...While we promptly issued a comprehensive rebuttal, various vested interests tried to exploit the claims made by the short seller. These entities encouraged and promoted a false narrative across various news and social media platform. Subsequently, the SC constituted a committee to look into the matter...The report was made public in May 2023, & the expert committee did not find any regulator failure..."

He further said: "The Committee’s Report not only observed that the mitigating measures, undertaken by your company helped rebuild confidence but also cited that there were credible charges of targeted destabilisation of the Indian markets. It also confirmed the quality of our Group’s disclosures and found
no instance of any breach. While Sebi is still to submit its report, we remain confident of our governance and disclosure standards."

He reassured the shareholders that the Adani Group remains resilient, focused on its long-term goals, and committed to maintaining its strong position in the market.

"It is my commitment that we will continue to strive to keep improving these, every single day. Our track record speaks for itself, and I am grateful for the support our stakeholders have shown as we went through our challenges. It is worth noting that even during this crisis – not only did we raise several billions from international investors – but also that – no credit agency – in India or abroad – cut any of our ratings," Adani said.

In its comeback strategy, the Adani Group has sold shares worth Rs 11,330 crore since May to leading US-based global equity investment boutique GQG Partners.

Besides, Adani Enterprises was successful in raising the new debt by pledging 21.4 per cent of the shares of Adani Road Transport, NSDL data showed. It had pledged 1.95 per cent of Adani Road Transport shares during the September 2022 bond issue.

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