The Adani Group has gone all out with mutiple responses, interviews and videos to hit back against Hindenburg Research's allegations of fraud against it. The firm's CFO has even equated the stock market crash of 20 per cent in the value of Adani stocks to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, calling those involved in a sell off similar to Indians who opened fire on their fellow countrymen. But none of this has helped the port to power conglomerate, which has lost more than ₹5,29,865 crore in markey cap since the report became public.
The company is clearly struggling to retain investor confidence at a crucial moment when it seeks to raise ₹20,000 crore from a follow-on public offer (FPO). Even though the share sale helped Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports to end the day in green, the rest of its seven listed firms lost more than 19 per cent. The offer has so far been subscribed only 3 per cent with another day to go, and the group CFO has said that its failure could halt Adani's expansion plans.
The FPO is the largest of its kind in India, and has received a muted response despite a $400 million infusion from Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company.
