Adani Group repays Rs 24,610 crore in pledges, bonds: Report

The moves come on the back of a massive erosion in the Adani Group's valuation in the wake of the Hindeburg report

The under-fire Adani Group reportedly paid back at least Rs 24,610 crore ($3 billion) in the March quarter to assuage concerned investors and creditors in the wake of the Hindenburg report.

According to a report by Mint, which cited regulatory filings and insiders, the embattled conglomerate spent at least Rs 20,835 crore ($2.54 billion) in the March quarter to cut promoters' pledges in four Adani Group companies, namely, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports and SEZ, Adani Transmission, and Adani Green Energy.

In addition, the publication reported that the conglomerate repaid at least Rs 3,650 crore worth of commercial papers that had been sold to SBI Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, and HDFC Mutual Fund in the March quarter.

The moves come on the back of a massive erosion in the Adani Group's valuation in the wake of the Hindenburg report, which wiped off $145 billion from the conglomerate's market value.

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Shortly after the release of the Hindenburg report on January 24, the Adani Group held a few international roadshows with high-profile investors and creditors in a bid to salvage the situation.

These shows in Singapore and Hong Kong, Mint reported, partly helped the group secure funding from a US-based boutique asset management company—GQG Partners—which, on March 2, bought a 3.4 per cent stake in Adani Enterprises, a 4.1 per cent stake in Adani Ports, a 2.5 per cent stake in Adani Transmission, and a 3.5 per cent stake in Adani Green Energy.

This new funding, to the tune of Rs 15,420 crore ($1.88 billion), in addition with another Rs 8,200 crore ($1 billion) from promoter-group funding, were used to "release a substantial part of the promoters' pledges and repay bonds early," Mint reported, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Of this, at least Rs 12,100 crore was used to reduce pledges in Adani Ports, while Rs 4,000 crore, Rs 3,762 crore, and Rs 1,145 crore were used to reduce pledges in Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission, and Adani Green Energy, respectively, in the March quarter.

These moves, Mint reported, have not only helped the Adani Group stall the freefall in its stocks, but have also helped it gain new investors: in the March quarter alone, the group gained 2.25 million new public shareholders, who purchased shares worth Rs 25,427 crore ($3.1 billion) in the same period.