Hindenburg Research said an extensive rebuttal from Gautam Adani’s eponymous conglomerate against the US short seller’s claims of widespread corporate malfeasance ignored all its key allegations and was “obfuscated by nationalism.”
The detailed statement issued by the Adani Group late on Sunday failed to specifically answer 62 of Hindenburg’s 88 questions, the short seller said early Monday in India, and conflated the company’s “meteoric rise” and the wealth of Asia’s richest man “with the success of India itself.”
Despite Adani’s attempts to calm investors as it presses ahead with a $2.5 billion share sale, the group’s stocks extended their sell off on Monday. The ports-to-power conglomerate is seeking stem a rout that has erased more than $50 billion market value in two trading sessions last week.
Adani said most of the 88 questions raised by Hindenburg Research have already been addressed in public disclosures and called the US firm’s conduct “nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law.” It also repeated a threat of legal action.
These are the some of the key points raised by Hindenburg in its latest response:
- Fraud cannot be “obfuscated by nationalism or a bloated response” that ignores the main allegations raised
- Short seller categorically denied the securities fraud charge levied by the Adani Group
- Hindenburg disagrees with Adani combining its growth story with India’s
- “To be clear, we believe India is a vibrant democracy and an emerging superpower with an exciting future. We also believe India’s future is being held back by the Adani Group, which has draped itself in the Indian flag while systematically looting the nation.”
- Of the 413 page response, only 30 pages focused on issues related to the Jan. 24 report
- The questions that were answered either “largely confirmed or attempted to sidestep” the report’s findings
- Besides 330 pages of court records, 53 pages in Adani’s response were “high-level financials, general information, and details on irrelevant corporate initiatives” like production of safe vegetables
Adani is perceived by critics as being close to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has sought to portray Hindenburg’s charges against his conglomerate as an attack against his home country. The tycoon has often aligned his businesses with Modi’s development goals, building capital-intensive infrastructure such as ports and airports.
“This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India,” Adani said in its response Sunday.
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