Adani Group’s mcap 25% short of pre-Hindenburg level

Healthy Rebound

• Adani Group plans a Rs7 lakh cr capex over next decade
• It’s expanding infra business
• Surge in Adani Group stocks boosted Gautam Adani’s wealth to $84.3 bn
• This propelled Adani to 15th position in the global rich list
• Mukesh Ambani is ranked 14th with a wealth of $96.3 bn

New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s sprawling conglomerate has raised over $5 billion (Rs41,500 crore) in equity and a double of that in debt this year as the apples-to-airport group made a comeback since being hit by a bombshell short seller report. Adani, who was the world’s second-richest man at the start of the year, saw almost $60 billion of his personal wealth erased after Hindenburg Research in a January 24 report accused his group of market manipulation and accounting fraud.

The group denied all allegations and reworked its strategy, fueling a comeback that now has the tycoon some $36 billion short of where he started the year and two notch and $12 billion shy of rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The strategy seems to be paying off with share prices of some of the 10 listed companies recovering all of the Hindenburg losses. But on a cumulative basis, Adani Group’s market cap is about 25 per cent below its previous record of Rs19.23 lakh crore, reached before the Hindenburg Research report published on January 24.