News Desk
AHMEDABAD, INDIA: A company owned by Asia’s richest man has responded to a report which accused the firm of “brazen” stock manipulation and fraud, saying it was considering legal action against the publisher.
The Adani Group, founded by Gautam Adani, termed the report by a US investment firm Hindenburg Research “malicious” and “selective misinformation”.
The group lost nearly $11 billion of its market value after the research was made public on Wednesday.
Adani Group is among India’s biggest companies and operates in several industries, including commodities trading, airports, utilities and the renewable energy sector. The company is headed by Indian billionaire Adani, the world’s fourth richest man, according to Forbes magazine.
In the report that came days ahead of a planned sale of Adani Group shares to the public, Hindenburg accused Adani of “pulling the largest con in corporate history”.
Report questioned Adani Group’s ownership of offshore companies
The report inquired about the Adani Group’s ownership of companies in offshore tax havens such as Mauritius and the Caribbean. It also claimed that Adani companies were under substantial debt”, and consequently on a “precarious financial footing”.
The Adani Group responded to the report’s claim on Thursday and said it was considering “remedial and punitive action” against Hindenburg Research in the US and India, adding that it had always complied with the laws.
“The volatility in Indian stock markets created by the report is greatly concerning and has led to unwanted anguish for Indian citizens,” said the group head of the group’s legal team, Jatin Jalundhwala
He added the research firm designed the report and its unsubstantiated contents to have a deleterious effect on the share values of Adani Group, as Hindenburg Research by their own admission, was positioned to benefit from a slide in Adani shares.
Hindenburg on Thursday responded to Adani’s statements, saying the firm had not addressed “a single substantive issue” it raised.
It said it stood by its report and would “welcome” legal action, as any claim against it would be “meritless”.
