• Gautam Adani weighs $5 billion fundraise as banks urge deleveraging

    Business
    Gautam Adani weighs $5 billion fundraise as banks urge deleveraging
    This size of equity raising would address two of the most common critiques of the ports-to-power conglomerate by increasing the liquidity of the companies' stock as well as the group's debt ratios.

    Digital Desk: In a bid to raise around $5 billion across his vast corporate empire, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is recruiting sovereign wealth funds, according to people familiar with the situation. Lenders had previously ordered the company to lower leverage.

    According to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous since the information is confidential, the network of businesses owned by Asia's wealthiest person has contacted senior executives at organisations including Mubadala Investment Co. 
    and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority about investments.

    According to them, Adani's group is appealing to other sizable Middle Eastern and Canadian investment funds for funding. One of the participants claimed that the group had even spoken about raising $10 billion.

    As per a report from Bloomberg News on Tuesday, flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd. is thinking of issuing between $1.8 billion and $2.4 billion in fresh shares as early as next year. According to one of the persons, the $5 billion to $10 billion aim would include the money earned from a future share offering by Adani Enterprises.

    Adani Enterprises announced in a Tuesday exchange statement that the board of the firm will explore raising capital on Nov. 25.
    The people stated that discussions are still underway and no conclusions have been reached.

    The Adani group's systematic capital management programme, which has been in place since 2019, includes plans for equity fundraising. Under this programme, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Co. have previously invested in the Indian company. the fundraising will get underway with Adani Enterprises and is unrelated to the group's ambitions to raise debt, one of the persons said.
    Adani Group, Mubadala, and ADIA representatives declined to comment.

    This size of equity raising would address two of the most common critiques of the ports-to-power conglomerate by increasing the liquidity of the companies' stock as well as the group's debt ratios.

    The Adani Group's "elevated" leverage had been identified in September by the research company CreditSights. The conglomerate had reacted angrily to the news, describing the leverage levels of its companies as "healthy."

    The possible move by Adani is similar to one made by another Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who sold shares in his conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. to raise more than $27 billion from foreign investors in 2020.