Adani AGM 2023: Gautam Adani Says Investor Belief Validates Governance Despite Short-Seller's Attack
Not only did the group raise several billions of dollars from investors, but no credit agency cut its ratings, says Adani.
Billionaire Gautam Adani said investor faith after a "malicious" attack by a short seller earlier this year validated its governance standards.
On the eve of Republic Day, the U.S.-based short-seller published a report to short Adani Group stocks just as it was planning to launch the largest follow-on public offering in India’s history, Adani said in a virtual address to shareholders at the annual general meeting of Adani Enterprises Ltd. on Tuesday.
"The report was a combination of targeted misinformation and discredited allegations, the majority of them dating from 2004 to 2015. They were all settled by the appropriate authorities at that time," Adani said. "This report was a deliberate and malicious attempt aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a short-term drive-down of our stock prices."
The company decided to withdraw the FPO and return money to protect investor interest, he said. "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 false narratives across various news and social media platforms."
Adani Group repaid nearly $billion of debt and held investor road shows to shore up investor confidence as the group stocks fell after the short seller report. The shares have since rebounded, aided by investments worth nearly $3.5 billion by GQG Partners and a report from the Supreme Court-appointed committee.
Adani said the expert committee did not find any regulatory failures. And the panel 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, he said.
While the Securities and Exchange Board of India is yet to submit its report, the Adani Group is confident of its governance and disclosure standards and will "continue to strive to keep improving these".
Even during this crisis, not only did the group raise several billions of dollars from international investors, but no credit agency—in India or abroad—cut any ratings of any group company, he said.
"This is the strongest validation of the belief that the investors have in your company’s governance and capital allocation practises.”
Disclaimer: AMG Media Networks Ltd., a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd., holds 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd., the owner of BQ Prime.
