Adani Group Rebuttal of Hindenburg Research Report Assailed as “Obfuscated by Nationalism

Last week, a report from Hindenburg Research was released, alleging that billionaire Gautam Adani’s businesses were involved in a “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme” over many years.[0] The entity reported that it had established a short position in the Adani Group’s companies, meaning it would gain from a decrease in their worth.[1] After Hindenburg Research released their report on January 24th, the Adani Group experienced an immense loss in their market value, dropping by over USD 50 billion in only two days of trading. This meant that their chairman, Gautam Adani, lost approximately USD 20 billion, which is approximately one-fifth of his entire wealth.[2]

Adani has expressed doubt about the accuracy of Hindenburg’s report and its timing, claiming the document is an attempt to not only harm their company but also undermine India’s autonomy, the reliability of Indian establishments, and India’s potential for prosperity.[3]

Hindenburg then said Adani’s rebuttal ignored all its key allegations and was “obfuscated by nationalism.”[4] On Monday, the short seller noted that the conglomerate’s statement did not give a direct response to 62 out of Hindenburg’s 88 queries, and that it lumped together the “meteoric rise” of the company and the fortune of Asia’s wealthiest individual with the prosperity of India as a whole.[5]

In its rebuttal published Sunday, the Adani Group said that some 65 of the 88 questions in Hindenburg’s report had been addressed in the conglomerate’s public disclosures, describing the short-seller’s conduct as “nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law.”[6] It reiterated that it would exercise its rights “to pursue remedies to safeguard our stakeholders before all appropriate authorities.”[6]

The Adani Group declared that the report is an “unscrupulous amalgamation of distorted information, hidden facts, and baseless and debunked allegations, which are all meant to achieve a secondary purpose”.[7]

Jugeshinder Singh, the CFO of Adani Group, declared in a formal statement on Wednesday that the company was taken aback by the report, labeling it a “malicious amalgamation of choosy misinformation and aged, baseless, and discredited claims.[8]

0. “Gautam Adani’s business loses $50 billion in market value after short seller report” CNN, 27 Jan. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/investing/india-adani-stocks-fall-hindenburg-report-intl-hnk/index.html

1. “‘Attack on India:’ Adani slams US short seller over fraud allegations” CNN, 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/investing/india-adani-rebuttal-hindenburg-allegations-intl-hnk/index.html

2. “Adani responds, Hindenburg rebuts: What’s in their back-and-forth exchange?” The Indian Express, 30 Jan. 2023, https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/adani-responds-hindenburg-rebuts-8412958/

3. “Adani claims US investment firm’s fraud allegations are an ‘attack on India’” The Guardian, 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/30/adani-claims-us-investment-firm-hindenburg-research-allegations-attack-on-india

4. “Adani stock rout hits $94 billion as fight with short-seller Hindenburg intensifies” The Straits Times, 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/adani-group-says-hindenburg-report-intended-to-create-false-market

5. “Adani groups market rout hits $66 bn as fight with Hindenburg escalates” Business Standard, 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/adani-group-s-market-rout-hits-66-bn-as-fight-with-hindenburg-escalates-123013000385_1.html

6. “Adani Bond Plunge Deepens as Rebuttal Fails to Stem Concern” Yahoo! Voices, 30 Jan. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/now/adani-bond-plunge-accelerates-rebuttal-023116630.html

7. “Billionaire Adani’s Empire Loses $51 Billion in 48 Hours” TheStreet, 27 Jan. 2023, https://www.thestreet.com/technology/billionaire-adanis-empire-loses-51-billion-in-48-hours

8. “Gautam Adani Accused of ‘Largest Con in Corporate History’ | Time” TIME, 25 Jan. 2023, https://time.com/6250052/adani-hindenburg-fraud/