BENGALURU (Reuters) -Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, India’s largest private port operator, will raise up to 50 billion rupees ($600.6 million) by selling non-convertible debentures, it said on Wednesday.
Billionaire Gautam Adani was re-designated as executive director from managing director and his son Karan Adani was re-designated as managing director from CEO, the company added.
Former Nissan Motors Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta was named CEO in Karan Adani’s stead.
The company, part of the Adani conglomerate, did not specify for what it would use the proceeds.
Adani Ports, which operates 13 ports and terminals in India, last raised $600 million in December by issuing bonds and used the proceeds to refinance its debt.
The company’s cash and cash equivalents were 72.90 billion rupees as of Sept. 30, 2023, while its net debt was roughly 387 billion rupees.
Adani Group companies have been raising funds for capital expenditure since early 2023, and have plans to spend seven trillion rupees over the next decade on infrastructure projects.
The group’s fundraising efforts, however, were dealt a blow early last year after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by the group, claims the group denied.
The report sparked a sell-off that lost the group around $150 billion and heightened regulatory scrutiny. It has since won the backing of bankers and investors and its stock has pared the losses to about $47 billion.
Earlier in the day, India’s Supreme Court provided further respite to the group, saying it does not need to face more investigations beyond the market regulator’s current scrutiny.
Adani Ports’s shares closed up 1.5%, gaining with the other group stocks on the day.
($1 = 83.2570 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Janane Venkatraman)
