Adani Enterprises kicks off its maiden bond sale aimed at individuals

By Divya Patil
 

Adani Enterprises Ltd.’s maiden bond issuance targeted at individual investors opens for subscription Wednesday as the conglomerate seeks to diversify its funding base following a brutal short seller attack last year. 
 

The flagship firm of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s group plans to raise as much as Rs 800 crore ($95.3 million) through the issuance where 60 per cent of the amount is reserved for high networth and retail individuals, according to its prospectus. Another 30 per cent is for non-institutional investors such as corporates, while the remaining 10 per cent is for institutional buyers.

The bond sale comes as the conglomerate tries to raise funds from a mix of routes. A strong response for the public issuance will be a sign of investor confidence, highlighting the group’s recovery after Hindenburg Research’s report in January 2023 led to a rout in its shares and bonds. 

Adani Enterprises, which had earlier planned a Rs 1,000 crore public bond issuance for January last year, shelved it after Hindenburg’s allegations of corporate malfeasance, which the group has repeatedly denied.

Since then, the group is back on a growth spree, considering fresh fundraising via a share sale for its flagship unit after selling shares in its power utility. The group has enough cash to cover more than 30 months of debt payments, it said last month as the port-to-power conglomerate tries to alleviate concerns about its liquidity risk.

In the issuance, Adani Enterprises is offering bonds due in two-, three- and five years, with yield ranging between 9.25 per cent and 9.90 per cent. At least three quarters of the proceeds will be used to prepay or repay the company’s debt, while the rest is for general corporate purposes.

Trust Investment Advisors Pvt., AK Capital Services and Nuvama Wealth Management are the lead managers for the public issue, which is slated to close Sept. 17.