Adani tells investors all share-backed loans have been paid back

New York – Billionaire Gautam Adani and his family have

prepaid all borrowings backed by Adani Group company shares,

senior executives at the conglomerate told investors at a meeting in London on Wednesday, according to people who attended.

The people did not want to be identified as the talks were confidential. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

The London meeting was part of a worldwide roadshow aimed at reassuring international investors that the ports-to-power empire’s finances are under control, after as much as US$153 billion (S$207 billion) in combined market value was erased from company stocks following a January short-seller’s report.

The report from Hindenburg Research alleged stock manipulation and accounting fraud.

It had expressed concerns over the founder’s shares in Adani Group companies being pledged for debt, saying that it was “effectively leveraging the group to the hilt”. It added that equity share pledges were an inherently unstable source of borrowing because of the possibility of a margin call.

The group has denied the accusations. It said earlier this week that the Adani family had prepaid US$902 million worth of borrowings backed by shares following another similar US$1.1 billion prepayment in February. It said at the time that the payments were “consistent with promoters’ commitment to prepay all share-backed financing before March 31, 2023”.

The Hindenburg report left investors with a string of questions, particularly on a refinancing plan for the US$750 million Adani Green bond due 2024 and how the parent company would reduce debt. An Adani family trust recently sold 154.5 billion rupees (S$2.55 billion) worth of shares to US investment firm GQG Partners, helping to power a recovery in stock prices.

The international roadshow began in Singapore and Hong Kong before moving to Dubai and London and would continue in the United States, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. The US meetings would be held over four days, including in New York and Los Angeles, the person said. BLOOMBERG