Adani group stocks hit 10% lower circuit on FPO withdrawal; ACC, Ambuja rebound up to 9%

Shares of Adani group companies continued their downward journey on Thursday, with Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas hitting their 10% lower circuit on the BSE after Gautam Adani-controlled conglomerate withdrew its ₹20,000-crore follow-on public offer (FPO). Among others, Adani Wilmar shares were locked in 5% lower circuit, while recently acquired cement entities, ACC and Ambuja Cement, rebounded up to 8% following clarification by the management.

In a late night filing on Wednesday, Adani Enterprises announced withdrawal of its FPO, citing current market volatility, just one day after the successful completion of share sale. The development came after shares of the conglomerate, along with other group companies shares, witnessed sharp selling, with Adani Enterprises settling 28.45% lower at ₹2,128.70, down 31.5% as compared to FPO price of ₹3,112 per share.

Extending its losing streak on Thursday, Adani Enterprises hit a 10% lower circuit of ₹1,915.85 on the BSE, while Adani Green Energy was down 10% at ₹1,039.85. Similarly, Adani Transmission fell 10% to ₹1,551.15 and Adani Total Gas shed 10% to ₹1,707.7 per share on the BSE.

Bucking the trend, ACC and Ambuja Cements gained between 4% and 9% after the management refuted reports claiming that shares of both recently acquired cement entities were pledged by promoters as a part of the acquisition financing.

“We would like to clarify that none of the shares of Ambuja or ACC have been pledged by Promoters. The Promoters have only provided non-disposal undertaking and accordingly, there is no requirement of providing any top-up of shares of Ambuja and ACC or cash top up under the acquisition financing raised last year,” Adani group said in a statement.

Shares of Adani group companies have been under stress since last Wednesday following a report by the U.S.-based investment firm Hindenburg Research, which alleged that key listed Adani firms have taken on substantial debt, including pledging shares of their inflated stock for loans, putting the entire group on precarious financial footing. The conglomerate also released a 413-page response to Hindenburg’s allegation, which failed to soothe investors’ nerves. 

On Wednesday, Adani group lost ₹1.73 lakh crore in market cap following a report that Swiss Finance giant Credit Suisse has stopped accepting bonds from Gautam Adani-controlled companies as collateral for margin loans to its private banking clients. Since the launch of FPO, total market cap of Adani Group fell from ₹19.21 lakh crore to ₹11.86 lakh crore, a fall of ₹7.35 lakh crore or 38.26%. Since the launch of FPO, Adani Enterprises has lost ₹1.43 lakh crore in m-cap, while Adani Power, Adani Wilmar, Adani Port, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, Adani Green, ACC, and Ambuja lost ₹23,000 crore, ₹13,000 crore, ₹57,276 crore, ₹2.19 lakh crore, ₹1.16 lakh crore, ₹1.21 lakh crore, ₹8,833 crore and ₹33,338 crore, respectively.