Adani’s fortune drops by $12.3 billion after US indictment

On By Littum

Upper line

Shares in Adani Group’s listed units fell sharply on Thursday after US prosecutors charged the Indian conglomerate’s billionaire founder with his alleged involvement in a scheme to pay $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure lucrative energy supply contracts.

Key facts

Shares of the conglomerate’s flagship company Adani Enterprises fell about 21.55% to $26.22 (INR 2,213.60) after markets opened in India on Thursday.

Shares of Adani Green Energy, the entity directly linked to the Justice Department indictment, fell 17.57% to $13.79 (INR 1,164.45)

The green energy unit also canceled a planned $600 million bond sale after the indictment on Thursday.

In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the firm cited the US indictment and said: “In light of these developments, our subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the proposed USD-denominated bond offerings for the time being.”

Among the conglomerate’s other listed companies, Adani Power fell almost 11.5%, Adani Ports fell more than 17.5%, Adani Energy Solutions fell 19% and Adani Total Gas fell almost 13%.

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Forbes valuation

According to our estimates, Gautam Adani’s net worth has fallen by $13.5 billion to $57.5 billion. This makes Adani the 25th richest person in the world on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list, down from 22nd on Wednesday. Despite the decline, the Indian billionaire remains the second richest Asian on the list, after his compatriot Mukesh Ambani.

Further reading

Billionaire Gautam Adani charged in alleged $250 million bribery scheme (Forbes)

Who is Gautam Adani, the Indian billionaire who short seller Hindenburg says is running a ‘Corporate Con’? (Forbes)