"Our balance sheet is healthy": Gautam Adani breaks silence on his rare business defeat

Gautam Adani, Founder and Chairman of Adani group, on Thursday said Adani Enterprises' decision to withdraw its Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) might have surprised many, but the company's board felt that it was not morally correct to proceed with the issue, given the volatility in the market on the Budget day.

In a YouTube video, Adani, 60, said the decision would not have any impact on Adani group's existing operations and future plans. He said his group companies will continue to focus on timely executions and delivery of projects. "The fundamentals of our company are very strong. Our balance sheet is healthy and assets robust," he said adding that his company has an impeccable record of fulfilling its debt obligations. Adani said his group will continue to focus on a long-term value creation and growth, managed by internal accruals."Once the market stabilises, we will review our capital market strategy," he said adding that the group has strong focus on ESG and his businesses will continue to create value in responsible way.

"The strong validation of governance principles come from several international partnerships we have built with different entities," he said while thanking investment bankers, institutional investors and shareholders, within and outside India, for giving support to the FPO. Adani said he is confident that the group will get investor support from future as well. The recent selling in Adani group stocks came after Hindenburg Reserach, a short selling, made many allegations on Adani group including accounting frauds, stock manipulations and money laundering, while revealing that it has gone short on Adani group stocks. While Adani denied all the allegations, the group stocks continued to bleed. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked domestic banks for details of their exposure to Adani group companies, government and banking sources told Reuters on Thursday. The news has come amid concerns over the group’s total debt after Adani Enterprises shelved its successfully concluded Rs 20,000 crore share sale amid a turbulent market, citing the need to insulate investors from potential losses. Notwithstanding the sharp increase in debt of Adani Group companies, bank loans to the group was largely stable over FY2019-22, said Kotak Institutional Equities said in its latest note.