Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s renewable energy unit plans to raise 123 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) to fund his coal-dependent conglomerate’s green diversification following the fallout from a damaging short-seller broadside.
(Bloomberg) — Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s renewable energy unit plans to raise 123 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) to fund his coal-dependent conglomerate’s green diversification following the fallout from a damaging short-seller broadside.
Adani Green Energy Ltd.’s board approved the plan at a meeting on Thursday and will then seek approval from shareholders, the company said in a statement, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Shares of Adani Green rose as much as 2.6% in Mumbai after the nod.
By selling shares through qualified institutional placement, or QIP, Adani Green is looking to bring on board more institutional investors and attract more research analysts to cover the firm, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Only one analyst currently tracks the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The tycoon’s conglomerate has already announced fundraising plans of as much as $2.6 billion for two other companies — Adani Enterprises Ltd. and Adani Transmission Ltd. — as it attempts a comeback from the crisis triggered by Hindenburg Research. The US-based short-seller in January leveled fraud allegations against Adani Group, which has denied any wrongdoing. The report wiped out more than $150 billion from the conglomerate’s market value at one point.
An equity fundraising could cover Adani Green’s 2024 bond maturities, including $750 million of holding company-issued bonds which might be hard to refinance, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sharon Chen wrote in a note on Thursday.
–With assistance from Dong Lyu.
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