New Delhi:

Billionaire Gautam Adani's group has been backed by Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company (IHC) to invest USD 400 million (about Rs 3,260 crore) in the share sale of its flagship firm.

The investment will help restore confidence in the group, which has lost nearly US$70 billion after being exposed with damning reports of a US short seller.

The 60-year-old Gautam Adani was the third richest person in the world until the Hindenburg Research report came out, that is, a day before January 24.

The report raised questions about the company's debt levels, alleged stock manipulation and accounting fraud, and has subsequently catapulted Gautam Adani to the eighth position in the list of billionaires, overtaking Mukesh Ambani in April last year. Had reached the top of the list, the difference in wealth with them was only 4 billion US dollars.

The Adani Group issued a 413-page response to the Hindenburg report late on Sunday with the aim of restoring confidence in the business community, but it did not make much difference, and the share prices of most of the group companies continued to fall, and dollar bonds also fell on Monday. reached new lows.

US short seller Hindenburg has rejected allegations by the Adani Group that its report was a "systematic attack" on India, and said the "hoax" cannot be covered by nationalism.

Hindenburg released its report on 24 January, when Adani Enterprise Ltd's ₹20,000 crore follow-on share sale opened.

As per the information available on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), anchor investors had invested around Rs 6,000 crore in the FPO on the same day, but only three per cent of the shares were subscribed till Monday evening on this offer in the name of public subscription. .

This FPO is closing on Tuesday, January 31, and its retail investors' portion - which is the largest portion of the FPO - has barely subscribed to four per cent.

IHC has said it will invest about US$400 million in follow-on shares of Adani Enterprises, adding that it remains confident in the fundamentals of the Adani Group despite a fall in share prices.

IHC CEO Syed Baser Shuaib said in a statement, "We believe there is strong potential for long-term growth, and our shareholders will benefit..." IHC chief UAE National Security Advisor and brother of the President Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed is Al Nahyan.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has also issued a separate statement saying that its investment in Adani Group is safe.

The statement said, "Our total holding in Adani group companies under equity and debt is Rs 36,474.78 crore ... It was Rs 35,917.31 crore as on December 31, 2022 ... These equity holdings of group companies during the last several years 30,127 crore and has a market value of Rs.56,142 crore at the close of market on January 27, 2023..."

Punjab National Bank (PNB), which has investments of around Rs 7,000 crore in Adani group entities, has said it is closely monitoring the situation.

(

Disclaimer:

New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

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