SEBI issues notice to Adani Energy for wrongful categorisation of investors

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a notice to Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), the power transmission division of the Adani group, alleging wrongful categorisation of certain investors as public shareholders.

While the company did not provide specific details, it mentioned in its notes to the second-quarter earnings statement that it plans to respond to regulatory and statutory authorities with the necessary information and clarifications.

Meanwhile, AESL also disclosed its second-quarter earnings but confirmed that it had not received any new notice from SEBI.

"During the current quarter, an SCN (show-cause notice) has been received alleging wrongful categorization of shareholding of certain entities as public shareholding and consequences therefrom," AESL said. "The company will respond to the regulatory and statutory authorities by providing information, responses, documents and/or clarifications, as applicable, in the due course of time."

SEBI mandates that listed companies must have at least 25 per cent of their equity owned by public investors. Typically, foreign portfolio investors associated with the promoter group are considered part of the promoter holding.

In recent developments, seven out of the ten listed firms under the Adani group have been issued show cause notices by SEBI. These notices pertain to alleged violations of related party transactions and non-compliance with listing regulations, as revealed in the companies' regulatory filings to stock exchanges for the quarter ending March 31.