Gautam Adani dismisses the Hindenburg report as “targeted misinformation,” claiming that a US short-seller profited from Adani’s share price decline

Gautam Adani stated in his shareholder statement that Hindenburg gained money by deliberately driving down Adani group stock prices.

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, stated that the report issued by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accusing the conglomerate of stock manipulation and other financial irregularities was a combination of ‘targeted misinformation and outdated, discredited allegations’ aimed at harming the conglomerate’s reputation.

Adani stated in his speech to shareholders that Hindenburg Report gained money by deliberately driving down Adani group stock prices.

“On the eve of our Republic Day, a US-based short seller published a report just as we were preparing to launch India’s largest Follow-on Public Offering (FPO).” “The report was a combination of targeted misinformation and outdated, debunked allegations aimed at damaging our reputation and generating profits through a deliberate drive-down of our stock prices,” Adani stated in the company’s annual report.

He went on to say that, despite a fully subscribed FPO, the company opted to withdraw and return the money to investors in order to defend their interests. 

Furthermore, the short-selling situation had various negative implications that the corporation had to deal with, he noted.

“Despite the fact that we promptly issued a comprehensive rebuttal, various vested interests attempted to exploit the short seller’s claims.” “These entities engaged in and promoted false narratives across multiple news and social media platforms,” Gautam Adani claimed.

He further stated that the Supreme Court of India formed an Expert Committee to investigate this case, which found no regulatory fault by the group.

“The Committee’s Report not only noted that your company’s mitigating measures helped rebuild confidence, but it also stated that there were credible charges of coordinated destabilization of Indian markets.” It also confirmed the quality of our Group’s disclosures and discovered no instances of regulatory failure or breach,” stated the chairman. 

While the SEBI has yet to submit its assessment, we remain confident in our governance and disclosure standards, he added.

The market capitalization of Adani Group shares has declined significantly after the release of the Hindenburg report on January 24, which accused the company of illegal activities, flagrant stock manipulation, and accounting fraud.