Adani Group
Adani Group's Chief Financial Officer, Jugeshinder Singh, said in a statement that the company was shocked by the report, calling it a "malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations."
"The timing of the report’s publication clearly betrays a brazen, mala fide intention to undermine the Adani Group’s reputation with the principal objective of damaging the upcoming follow-on Public Offering from Adani Enterprises," it added.
"The Group has always been in compliance with all laws."
Hindenburg said its report was based on an investigation over two years that involved speaking with dozens of individuals, including former Adani Group executives as well as a review of documents.
Related stories
India's capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adani has repeatedly dismissed debt concerns. Singh told media on Jan. 21 "Nobody has raised debt concerns to us. No single investor has."
In the wake of the Hindenburg report, shares in Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone fell 7.3% to their lowest level since early July. Adani Enterprises dropped 3.7% to a near three-month low.
Adani-owned cement firms ACC and Ambuja Cements, which it acquired from Switzerland's Holcim last year in a $10.5 billion deal, fell 7.2% and 9.7% respectively on Wednesday.
Hindenburg's report said that five of seven key listed Adani companies have reported current ratios - a measure of liquid assets minus near-term liabilities - below 1. This, the short-seller said, suggested "a heightened short-term liquidity risk".
Adani Group's total gross debt in the financial year ending March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees.
Refinitiv data shows that debt at Adani Group's seven key listed Adani companies exceeds equity, with debt at Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) exceeding equity by more than 2,000%.
CreditSights, part of the Fitch Group, described the group last September as "overleveraged" and said it had concerns about its debt. While the report later corrected some calculation errors, CreditSights said it maintained its concerns about Adani's leverage.
Hindenburg is known for shorting electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter though it later reversed its position in Twitter.
Shares in Adani Enterprises surged 125% in 2022, while other group companies, including power and gas units, rose more than 100%.