NEW DELHI: Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s flagship firm seeks to raise about US$500mil through a share sale to institutions, marking a return to equity fundraising after a withering short-seller report in 2023.

Adani Enterprises Ltd offered about 14.2 million shares to large investors at an indicative price of 2,962 rupees or about US$35 apiece, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.

The per-share price is at discount to the stock’s closing price of 3,153.75 rupees on Wednesday.

The company plans to use the proceeds to fund capital expenditures at its subsidiaries, including energy projects and improvements at airport facilities.

The funds raised may also be used for payments on borrowings for an airport subsidiary and general corporate purposes.

ICICI Securities Ltd, Jefferies Financial Group Inc and SBI Capital Markets Ltd helped with the latest offering.

The sale marks a milestone for the media-to-mining conglomerate that was rocked by US short-seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations of widespread corporate fraud in January 2023.

The placement follows Adani Energy Solutions Ltd’s US$1bil offer in August to institutional investors.

The Hindenburg report had sparked an over US$150bil rout in Adani Group stocks, forcing Adani Enterprises to scrap a share sale in February last year.

The Indian conglomerate has repeatedly denied the short-seller’s allegations.

Some Adani firms have since recouped the losses and the group has resumed its expansion spree this year after India’s Supreme Court said in January that no fresh probes were needed on Hindenburg’s allegations. 

 - Bloomberg