Adani Group plans to raise about $800 mn for new green energy projects, says report

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group is planning to raise about $800 million for new green energy projects, a report in Bloomberg News said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The size of the fundraise could be somewhere between $700 million and $800 million. The report said that the plan and size were not disclosed. The Adani Group is in discussions with global banks including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., DBS Bank Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. and Standard Chartered Plc, the Bloomberg report said.

The proposed fundraise could be the ports-to-power conglomerate’s biggest borrowing three months after short seller Hindenburg Research published a scathing report accusing the group of pulling the largest con in corporate history and levelled allegations of stock price manipulation and improper use of tax havens.

Though the group denied the allegations and issued a 413-page explanation on the allegations, it lost more than $114 billion in market value in three months.

On Tuesday, shares of Adani Green Energy hit the upper circuit of 5 per cent amid a highly volatile broader market. Adani Green Energy shares have lost 67.05 per cent in a year and fallen 52 percent since the beginning of this year. The large-cap stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,998 on April 29, 2022 and a 52-week low of Rs 439.95 on February 28, 2023.

On Thursday, Adani Green Energy shares were trading at Rs 913.25.

On the other hand, the renewables sector in India has been attracting foreign investments, and was among the country's top five industries for overseas funds last fiscal year, with a 5 per cent share of all inflows from April to September 2022, compared with 3.3 per cent in the same period a year ago.