By Dev Chatterjee
The Adani Group has staged a sharp turnaround since a bruising short-seller attack three years ago, leaning on acquisitions and the commissioning of marquee infrastructure projects such as the Navi Mumbai airport to restore momentum.
The Group was jolted in January 2023 by a report from now-shuttered short seller Hindenburg Research, which erased about $100 billion from its market value and forced the withdrawal of a ₹20,000 crore share sale by flagship Adani Enterprises.
Since then, the Group has clawed back ground after market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and a Supreme Court-appointed panel found no evidence of regulatory violations.
Adani Group’s market cap
The Group’s combined market capitalisation stood at about ₹19.25 lakh crore on January 23, 2023, just before the Hindenburg report. While valuations have recovered from the immediate post-report trough, the Group’s market value recently closed at around ₹12.42 lakh crore on Friday, still about ₹6.82 lakh crore below pre-report levels (see chart).
Undeterred, Adani has pressed ahead with expansion. Since January 2023, the conglomerate has completed 33 acquisitions worth roughly ₹80,000 crore ($9.6 billion) across businesses ranging from ports and energy to cement, underscoring its appetite for deal-led growth.
At the same time, it exited non-core assets, selling its entire stake in food products company Adani Wilmar to its joint-venture partner and through market sales.
$100 billion investment plan
The Group has also outlined a $100 billion investment plan over the next five years focused on its core ports, airports and infrastructure platforms. This includes a proposed ₹30,000 crore second terminal at the recently commissioned Navi Mumbai airport and a further ₹16,000 crore infusion into the Vizhinjam International Seaport project in Kerala.
Besides, the Group has submitted an ambitious plan to acquire Jaiprakash Associates, a Delhi based conglomerate, via bankruptcy court, and Sahara group owned land with the Supreme Court. Its next big marquee project is the redevelopment of Asia’s largest slum in Dharavi, Mumbai.
The Group, which started its journey with a port in Mundra, Gujarat is planning to invest more in the sector.
“With an additional investment of ₹16,000 crore under Phase 2, and a cumulative commitment of ₹30,000 crore, Vizhinjam will scale from a capacity of 1 million TEUs to 5.7 million TEUs by 2029,” Karan Adani, managing director and chief executive officer of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, said on Saturday.
The Hindenburg episode has also sharpened the focus on governance at promoter-led conglomerates, according to market watchers. “Markets may react to narratives, but regulators and long-term capital look to board independence, committee oversight and the quality of disclosures,” said Binoy Parikh, a Mumbai-based lawyer. “As Indian companies globalise, governance can no longer be personality-led; it has to be process-led, transparent and demonstrably embedded at the board level.”
Despite the comeback, challenges remain for the Adani Group, with its share prices coming under pressure on Friday after reports said the US Securities and Exchange Commission was seeking an American court approval to proceed with legal steps involving senior members of the conglomerate’s leadership. The Group has denied the bribery allegations made by the SEC.