Adani promoters raised ₹39.4K cr amid scrutiny

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : Promoters of the Adani group have generated ₹39,400 crore through stake dilutions in group companies since a damning report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research in January drove flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd to withdraw its ₹20,000 crore follow-on public offering. The group has denied the allegations. Market veterans believe this liquidity could be used as growth spending and to repay any near-term debt obligations of group companies if needed.

The dilution is also one way of reinforcing confidence in the group as the Rajiv Jain-founded GQG Partners, which has invested almost 90% of the ₹39,400 crore, is a respected figure among wealth managers, with assets under management of more than $104 billion, dwarfing Mobius Capital Partners’ $50 billion assets, according to market participants. “One can’t really talk of promoter level debt, but if need be, the promoters can use the proceeds to lend to group companies were any challenge to crop up in future fundraising," said a fund manager requesting anonymity. U.R.

Bhat, co-founder and director of Alphaniti Fintech, which also advises domestic and foreign investors, said that the promoters could invest the funds in “new businesses" in the renewables space. At the group level, the future debt maturity cover, which includes refinancing, stands at ₹11,796 crore for the current fiscal year (FY24), ₹32,000 crore in FY25 and ₹16,600 crore in FY26. The group had cash balances of ₹40,351 crore in FY23.

The stakes, including the latest in Adani Power, have been purchased mainly by GQG Partners. The Qatar Investment Authority recently purchased around 2.6% from a promoter entity in Adani Green for ₹4,135 crore. “Rajiv Jain is a very reputed investor and has a proven track