Adani prepays $902 million loan

Following the repayment of the amount to various international banks and domestic financial institutions, the group said that the shares of four companies will be released

TT Special Correspondent   |   Mumbai   |   08.03.23  :  The Adani group on Monday said that its promoters have prepaid share backed financing of Rs 7,374 crore ($902 million) as part of their commitment to reduce the overall leverage. The embattled conglomerate, which is battling allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud by Hindenburg Research, on Monday said that this prepayment is for loans that were to mature in April 2025. Following the repayment of the amount to various international banks and domestic financial institutions, the group said that the shares of four companies will be released.

These include 15.5 crore shares of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), representing 11.8 per cent of the promoters’ holding, 3.1 crore shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) which account for four per cent of the promoters’ holding, 3.6 crore shares of Adani Transmission (ATL) or 4.5 per cent of the promoters holding and 1.1 crore shares of Adani Green Energy, representing 1.2 per cent of the promoters’ holding. The group added that along with the repayments done in February, it has prepaid $2,016 million of share-backed financing. According to the conglomerate, this payment is consistent with promoters’ commitment to prepay all share-backed financing before March 31 2023.

On February 6, the group announced that the promoters had pre-paid $1.114 billion or Rs 9,200 crore of loans taken against pledged shares ahead of their maturity on September 2024. These loans were taken against the pledging of shares of APSEZ, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Transmission. However, it was subsequently reported that the group had then faced a margin call of $500 million, prompting the promoters to repay the entire loan.

While all listed shares of the group came under intense selling pressure following the allegations made by the USbased short seller, the past four sessions have seen most of them ending in the green. This has coincided with the group holding roadshows for fixed-income investors in Singapore and Hong Kong to reassure them about its financial position. The group will hold more such meetings beginning Tuesday to March 15 in Dubai, London and the US. Its meeting in the US will reportedly be held over four days.

The prepayment comes just five days after the promoters raised Rs 15,446 crore or $1.87 billion by selling stakes in four companies to US-based GQG Partners. S.B. Adani Family Trust, classified as a promoter entity, had sold shares in AEL, APSEZ, ATL, and Adani Green Energy. It is not clear if the latest prepayment has been made from the proceeds of this sale.