The Adani group has hired US legal firm Wachtell Lipton to take on US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, reported Financial Times.
The report said the group had approached senior lawyers at New York’s Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for a solution to tackle the crisis. The law firm, which was previously engaged by Twitter in its battle against Elon Musk, specialises in M&A, strategic investments, shareholder activism, securities law and corporate governance, among other things.
“The Adani Group has shown its seriousness in its battle with Hindenburg. This shows that they are likely to proceed ahead with filing a defamation suit,” said Shashank Agarwal, advocate, Delhi HC.
“Litigating in the US will allow Hindenburg access to Adani’s documentation and records which has its own challenges for Adani. Therefore, they must be extremely circumspect before initiating any such action,” said Ankur Mahindro, managing partner, Kred Jure – Advocates & Legal Consultants.
“The move can be best described as too little, too late. The group and their lawyers will have to meet the findings and allegations of the report on its merits, to restore the faith in its corporate governance. The financial and reputational damage is unlikely to be reversed in the short term,” said Apoorva Bhadang, partner, Vesta Legal.