BackAdani Group clarifies report of freezing of 3 FPI accounts 'blatantly erroneous'
The company says, '... clarifying that the Demat Account in which the aforesaid funds hold the shares of the Company are not frozen'Shares of Adani group companies fell by about 5% to 25% on Monday after NSDL froze the accounts of three foreign funds that are among the top stakeholders in the firms
PremiumAdani Group on Monday clarified that a report on National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) freezing accounts of three foreign funds that together own shares worth ₹43,500 crore in four of its companies are "blatantly erroneous and is done to deliberately mislead the investing community."
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, in a BSE filing, added that "with respect to the status of the Demat Account of the aforesaid funds and have their written confirmation vide its e-mail dated 14th June, 2021, clarifying that the Demat Account in which the aforesaid funds hold the shares of the Company are not frozen."
As for the report, the company further stated, "This is causing irreparable loss of economic value to the investors at large and reputation of the group."
"We are issuing this letter in the larger public interest and for the protection of minority investors interest," it added.
Shares of Adani group companies fell by about 5% to 25% on Monday after NSDL froze the accounts of three foreign funds that are among the top stakeholders in the firms.
Adani Enterprises, the conglomerate's flagship company, plunged as much as 25%, its steepest fall in nearly a decade. Nifty 50-listed Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell as much as 19% before paring some losses.
The NSDL has frozen the accounts of Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund, its website shows without citing a reason for the freeze, reported Reuters.
The three funds feature among the top twelve investors and owned about 2.1% to 8.91% stakes in five Adani Group companies as of March 31, 2020, annual investor presentations show.
The value of their stakes in Adani Power, Adani Enterprises, Adani Green, Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas Ltd spiked over ten-fold since end-March 2020 to 569.32 billion rupees ($7.78 billion) as of Friday, according to Reuters calculations.
This is in line with a broad rally in shares of Adani Group companies over the period that has made Chairman Gautam Adani the second richest Asian, behind Mukesh Ambani who is chairman of oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries.
Shares of Adani Enterprises have risen over 10-fold in the past year to Friday, while Adani Transmission shares have gained more than eight-fold and Adani Total Gas Ltd shares have jumped 1,114%.
Adani Ports Ltd has risen 148%, while Adani Green has grown 267% and Adani Power has jumped nearly four-fold over the past year.
An Adani spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. India's securities regulator SEBI and NSDL did not respond to requests seeking comment.
However, a report in the Economic Times said the freeze on the three accounts could be because of insufficient disclosure of information related to beneficial ownership.
With inputs from Reuters
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