Hindenburg Research says if Adani Group files lawsuit it will demand company documents
2 min read . Updated: 26 Jan 2023, 07:35 PM IST
Premium- Hindenburg Research says it fully stands by their report on the Adani Group
- The research firm has accused the conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens
Hours after Adani Group hit back on Thursday, saying it is evaluating "remedial and punitive action" under US and Indian laws against Hindenburg Research, the short-seller said it fully stands by the report on the Indian conglomerate and believes any legal action taken against them would be meritless.
"Regarding the company's threats of legal action, to be clear, we would welcome it. We fully stand by our report and believe any legal action taken against us would be meritless," the US-based investment research firm said in a statement.
Hindenburg further said it will demand documents in legal discovery process if Adani Group files a lawsuit in the US against the short seller for its report on the Indian conglomerate.
In a report, Hindenburg Research this week alleged that Adani Group had used undisclosed related-party transactions and earnings manipulation to "maintain the appearance of financial health and solvency" of its listed business units.
Here's Hindenburg Research's full statement:
In the 36 hours since we released our report, Adani hasn't addressed a single substantive issue we raised.
At the conclusion of our report, we asked 88 straightforward questions that we believe give the company a chance to be transparent. Thus far, Adani has answered none of these questions.
Instead, as expected, Adani has resorted to bluster and threats. In a statement to media today, Adani referred to our 106-page, 32,000-word report, with over 720 citations and prepared over the course of 2 years, as "unresearched" and said it is "evaluating the relevant provisions under U.S. and Indian laws for remedial and punitive action" against us.
Regarding the company's threats of legal action, to be clear, we would welcome it. We fully stand by our report and believe any legal action taken against us would be meritless.
If Adani is serious, it should also file suit in the U.S. where we operate. We have a long list of documents we would demand in a legal discovery process.
Adani vs Hindenburg
Adani Group head of legal Jatin Jalundhwala has called the report by the US research group "maliciously mischievous, (and) unresearched".
"We are evaluating the relevant provisions under US and Indian laws for remedial and punitive action against Hindenburg Research," the statement said.
The report and its unsubstantiated contents were designed to have a deleterious effect on the share values of Adani Group companies as Hindenburg Research, by their own admission, is positioned to benefit from a slide in Adani shares, he said.
"The volatility in Indian stock markets created by the report is of great concern, Jalundhwala added.
The statement however did not say if the group is planning to sue Hindenburg.
Hindenburg's report came just as a ₹20,000 crore follow-on share sale of Adani Enterprises opened for institutional investors. All the listed stocks of the group took a beating following the report.
Wednesday saw a major sell-off of Adani shares, wiping $6 billion from the net worth of its 60-year-old founder and knocking him down one place to fourth on Forbes' real-time global rich list.
Shares of Adani Enterprises closed 1.54% lower at ₹3,389.85 apeice on the BSE yesterday, while Adani Ports & SEZ settled 6.3% down.
