Ambuja Cements, ACC shares crash as Adani Group stocks extend decline

Adani Group has dismissed the report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. The conglomerate termed the report on the group ‘malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale’ and is exploring legal action against the US investor on its report alleging ‘brazen’ market manipulation and accounting fraud by Asia’s richest man’s empire.

In a statement later on Twitter, Hindenburg said it fully stands by its report and would in fact welcome any legal action by Adani group. “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,” the statement posted on Twitter read.

The Adani Group has been diversifying its business interests and last year bought cement firms ACC and Ambuja Cements from Switzerland’s Holcim for $10.5 billion. ACC was down 15% on Friday, while Ambuja plunged up to 25%.

The most-liquid stocks controlled by the Adani Group, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd and Ambuja Cements, are also the most vulnerable in the event of an extended selloff in the diversified conglomerate’s shares, as per Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nitin Chanduka.

Adani Group had announced the acquisition of Holcim’s stake in Ambuja (63.19%) and stake in ACC (4.48%; Ambuja directly owns around 50% stake in ACC). Adani Group’s open offer for a 26% stake each in Ambuja/ACC ended on September 9, 2022.

Adani Enterprises shares lost more than 19% on Friday, sliding below the ₹3,276 level at which anchor investors were allotted shares in the follow-on equity sale. Adani Transmission shares tumbled over 19% and Adani Total Gas sank 19.1% in their biggest daily drop since mid-March 2020, while Adani Green Energy sank about 16% on the BSE.

(With inputs from agencies)