Home / Companies / News / ‘Validation of our findings’: Hindenburg's Nathan Anderson lauds MSCI review

Back

‘Validation of our findings’: Hindenburg's Nathan Anderson lauds MSCI review

1 min read . Updated: 09 Feb 2023, 01:29 PM IST Edited By Anwesha Mitra

People walk past a screen displaying news featuring on Adani Group inside the BSE building in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Adani�s businesses have lost $107 billion in a week, one of the biggest wipeouts in India�s history, after an explosive report by short-seller Hindenburg Research forced him to pull a�stock sale�at the 11th hour and led some lenders to reject his securities as collateral for client trades. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — People walk past a screen displaying news featuring on Adani Group inside the BSE building in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. Adani�s businesses have lost $107 billion in a week, one of the biggest wipeouts in India�s history, after an explosive report by short-seller Hindenburg Research forced him to pull a�stock sale�at the 11th hour and led some lenders to reject his securities as collateral for client trades. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg **(Bloomberg)**

Adani Group stocks slipped in early trading, ending a two-day reprieve, after MSCI Inc. said it was reviewing the amount of shares linked to the group that were freely tradable in public markets.

Index provider MSCI's decision to review the amount of Adani Group-linked shares freely tradable in public markets has brought cheers from Hindenburg Research. The development came more than two weeks after the US-based short seller levelled a litany of allegations against the Indian conglomerate, prompting a sharp drop in Adani Group stocks.

“After a review of Adani, MSCI just announced: ‘characteristics of certain investors have sufficient uncertainty that they should no longer be designated as free float pursuant to our methodology.’ We view this as validation of our findings on offshore stock parking by Adani," tweeted Hindenburg founder Nathan Anderson.

The company had released a report last month accusing the Adani ports-to-energy conglomerate of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens. It also claimed that the Group had had unsustainable debt.

After a review of Adani, MSCI just announced:

“characteristics of certain investors have sufficient uncertainty that they should no longer be designated as free float pursuant to our methodology.

We view this as validation of our findings on offshore stock parking by Adani.
— Nate Anderson (@ClarityToast) February 9, 2023

Nine of the group’s 10 stocks declined Thursday, with the flagship Adani Enterprises plunging as much as 20% in early trading. The group’s market value has fallen sharply over the past two weeks, with losses at one point reaching $117 billion.

The Group has vehemently denied the allegations, even threatening to take action against Hindenburg. Gautam Adani's business empire had recently clawed back some of its lost value this week after pledging to repay $1.1 billion worth of early loans.

But while the move did appear to reassure investors for some time, the numbers nosedived on Thursday in the wake of the MSCI update. France's TotalEnergies has put on hold a planned investment in Adani Group's USD 50 billion hydrogen project pending results of an audit.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to constitute a committee under the monitoring of the retired apex court judge to inquire and investigate the Hindenburg Research report.