Gautam Adani’s electricity unit is halting an $847mn acquisition of a coal-fired power station in India in a sign that the billionaire’s business empire is slowing down spending following a short seller attack.
The Indian tycoon’s conglomerate, which includes India’s biggest private thermal power producer, has been roiled by a stock market rout triggered by New York-based short seller Hindenburg Research, which last month released a report accusing the group of stock manipulation and fraud.
Adani has strongly denied the allegations and insisted that the group’s debt pile is manageable. But it has so far failed to stop the yields on its bonds spiking and the company’s listed shares plummeting — with those of flagship Adani Enterprises tumbling to lows of Rs1,017 from highs of more than Rs4,000 in December.