Hindenburg effect! Adani group stocks plunge up to 17%; AESL, AGEL, ATGL lead fall

Shares of billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group companies were reeling under selling pressure in early trade on Monday amid fresh allegations from the U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research. Nine out of ten listed entities of the port-to-power conglomerate, barring Ambuja Cement, fell up to 17%, led by Adani Energy Solution, Adani Total Gas, and Adani Power, bringing down the cumulative market capitalisation of Adani Group stocks by up to ₹55,000 crore to ₹16.5 lakh crore.

Among the group stocks, Adani Energy Solutions registered the maximum fall, diving as much as 17.06% to ₹915.70 on the BSE. Adani Total Gas plummeted 13.39% to ₹753, while Adani Power tumbled 10.94% to hit a low of ₹619.

The Adani Group flagship Adani Enterprises fell 5.27% to touch a low of ₹3,018.55, while Adani Green Energy declined 6.96% to ₹1,656.05. Other Adani stocks such as Adani Wilmar, ACC, NDTV, and Adani Ports and SEZ fell in the range 2-6%.

At the time of reporting, most Adani Group stocks were down with marginal losses in the range of 1-4%, recovering from early losses. Bucking the trend, Ambuja Cement shares were up by 0.35%.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 182 points, or 0.23%, at 79,888 levels, while the NSE Nifty traded 53 points, or 0.22%, higher at 24,421 levels, at the time of reporting.

The sell-off in Adani Group stocks was triggered after Hindenburg Research, which released an adverse report against Adani Group in January last year, claimed in a fresh report that the SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, in charge of probing Adani-Hindenburg case, and her husband Dhaval Buch had a stake in offshore funds that were invested in the Adani Group.

"It has been nearly 18 months since our original report on the Adani Group presented overwhelming evidence that the Indian conglomerate was operating “the largest con in corporate history”. Our report exposed a web of offshore, primarily Mauritius-based shell entities used for suspected billions of dollars of undisclosed related party transactions, undisclosed investment and stock manipulation," says Hindenburg in its report titled "Whistleblower Documents Reveal SEBI’s Chairperson Had Stake In Obscure Offshore Entities Used In Adani Money Siphoning Scandal".

Responding to Hindenburg's latest allegations, the conglomerate termed them as “malicious, “mischievous” and “manipulative”. “The latest allegations by Hindenburg are malicious, mischievous and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at pre-determined conclusions for personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law,” Adani Enterprises says in an exchange filing.

“The Adani Group has absolutely no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in this calculated deliberate effort to malign our standing. We remain steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements,” says Adani Group spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of India’s stock market regulator in a joint statement clarified that the allegations levelled against them by the U.S. short-seller are an attempt to character assassination.

“In the context of allegations made in the Hindenburg Report dated August 10, 2024, against us, we would like to state that we strongly deny the baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report. The same are devoid of any truth. Our life and finances are an open book. All disclosures as required have already been furnished to SEBI over the years,” Puri and her husband say in a joint statement.

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