Adani Enterprises shares tank 15 pc; most group firms also fall

Adani Portfolio companies have taken a beating on the bourses in the recent time after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations in its report.

New Delhi: Shares of Adani Enterprises tumbled 15 per cent in morning trade on Thursday, a day after the firm said it has decided not to go ahead with its Rs 20,000-crore Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) and will return the proceeds to investors. The stock tanked 15 per cent to Rs 1,809.40 on the BSE. Other group firms also continued to remain weak for the 6th day in a row, with shares of Adani Ports declining 14 per cent, Adani Transmission falling 10 per cent, Adani Green Energy (10 per cent), Adani Total Gas (10 per cent), Adani Wilmar (5 per cent), NDTV (4.99 per cent) and Adani Power (4.98 per cent).

Many of the group firms also hit their lower circuit limits during the early trade. However, shares of Ambuja Cements jumped 9.68 per cent and ACC climbed 7.78 per cent in morning trade. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses in the recent time after Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.

"The Board of Adani Enterprises Ltd., (AEL) decided not to go ahead with the fully subscribed FPO. Given the unprecedented situation and the current market volatility, the company aims to protect the interest of its investing community by returning the FPO proceeds and withdraws the completed transaction," the company said in a statement on Wednesday. As many as 4.62 crore shares were sought as against an offer of 4.55 crore.

Non-institutional investors put in bids for over three times the 96.16 lakh shares reserved for them, while the 1.28 crore shares reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) were almost fully subscribed, according to BSE data. There was, however, a muted response from retail investors and company employees. Retail investors, for whom roughly half of the issue was reserved, bid for just 11 per cent of the 2.29 crore shares earmarked for them.

Employees sought 52 per cent of the 1.6 lakh shares reserved for them. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, had a lacklustre start to its FPO, with only a 1 per cent subscription on the first day of the share sale. The offer was opened for public subscription from January 27-31. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex quoted 118.87 points higher at 59,826.95. (PTI)