Adani Ports & SEZ Pays Off ₹1,500-Crore Loan in Comeback Strategy
Adani Ports and SEZ, a firm under the Adani Group, has paid off a ₹1,500-crore loan to SBI Mutual Funds in a bid to restore investor confidence after a sellout triggered by allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulations by US-based Hindenburg Research.
The company also promised to repay another ₹1,000 crore of commercial papers due in March. Adani Group has denied all allegations, bringing in Kekst CNC as a global communications advisor and American law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz to counter the short seller’s claims.
The Adani conglomerate is also drawing up a roadmap detailing the repayment schedule of existing debt and has called off a plan to acquire a coal plant of DB Power for over ₹7,000 crore. The group has a gross debt of ₹2.26 lakh crore and cash of ₹31,646 crore. Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the rating outlook for four Adani group companies to negative from stable.
Despite questions over the group’s ability to fund projects and refinance debt, a group spokesperson dismissed them as “unfounded speculation.” Adani Green, which is capable of paying off all its debt of ₹22,000 crore due in the financial year ending in March 2025, is seeking fresh equity capital from existing investors, divesting some renewable energy assets, and avoiding bidding for new ones, according to Bernstein Research.
Adani Ports and SEZ’s payment is from the existing cash balance and funds generated from business operations, indicating the market’s confidence in the group’s prudent capital and liquidity management plan.
Adani Group’s next move is to repay ₹5,000 crore in the financial year starting April and a $500 million bridge loan due next month, as the group hopes to restore the narrative and reassure jittery investors and lenders.
About Adani Group:
Adani Group is a diversified organisation in India comprising 7 publicly traded companies. It has created a world class transport and utility infrastructure portfolio that has a pan-India presence. Adani Group is headquartered in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, India. Over the years, Adani Group has positioned itself to be the market leader in its transport logistics and energy utility portfolio businesses focusing on large scale infrastructure development in India with O & M practices benchmarked to global standards. With four IG rated businesses, it is the only Infrastructure Investment Grade issuer in India.
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