Gulf investors bid for India’s Adani Enterprises’ $2.5bn FPO

25 Jan, 2023

BENGALURU: Gulf investors International Holding Co PJSC and sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are among the bidders for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises’ 200 billion rupees ($2.45 billion) follow-on sale of shares that began on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Mubadala Investment Co PJSC and BNP Paribas SA have also bid for shares, the report said, adding that the anchor book was oversubscribed about two times.

Adani Enterprises last week set the floor price for India’s largest FPO at 3,112 rupees per share with a price cap of 3,276 rupees apiece.

While bidding for anchor investors began on Wednesday, bidding for retail investors will commence from Friday, with the offer closing for both sets of investors on Jan. 31.

Meanwhile, a Hindenburg Research note on Wednesday accused the Adani Group of improper extensive use of entities set up in offshore tax havens and expressed concern about high debt levels.

The brokerage, a well known US short-seller, said it held short positions in the conglomerate. Shares of Adani Group companies fell between 3% and 7% on the note.

The Bloomberg report also pointed out that IHC has bid for around $200 million of shares in the FPO, while the other anchor investors have placed bids in the range of $25-$50 million.

India’s Adani Group plans to demerge more business; dismisses debt concerns

Life Insurance Corporation of India and SBI Life Insurance Co are among the domestic institutions bidding for shares, the report added. Spokespersons for Adani Enterprises, LIC and SBI Life did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Adani has said it will use 108.69 billion rupees from the FPO to fund green hydrogen projects, airports facilities and greenfield expressways.

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