Beaten-up Adani stocks have now fallen below $100 billion in market value after coming under short-seller attack

• The combined market value of Adani Group’s companies fell below $100 billion on Tuesday, per Bloomberg.
• The 10 listed companies have wiped out over $136 billion in market cap since a short-seller’s bombshell report.
• Adani is struggling to calm nerves about Hindenburg’s allegations of fraud and manipulation, which it denies.

India’s Adani Group has seen the market value of its listed companies fall below $100 billion as the conglomerate struggles to calm investor nerves in the wake of a bombshell short-seller’s report.

The rout in Adani stocks continued to deepen Tuesday, even after Gautam Adani, the tycoon who spearheads the group, played down the losses as “temporary” volatility last week. 

The Indian conglomerate’s 10 listed companies — with businesses ranging from power, ports, transmission, gas, green energy, and food — now have a combined equity market value under $100 billion, Bloomberg reported. 

Shares in Adani Enterprises dropped about 3.2% to just over 1,568 rupees ($18.94) in Mumbai on Tuesday, while those in Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Total Gas all fell by their daily lower limit of 5%. But Adani Power was up 5%, and Adani Ports edged 0.6% higher.

The group’s companies have collectively lost more than $136 billion in market capitalization since US short-seller Hindenburg Research released a scathing report in January alleging the Adani Group engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud. It accused the Indian conglomerate of “pulling the largest con in corporate history.” 

The Adani Group has denied the claims repeatedly and dismissed the report as “misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations.” 

Last week, the Adani electricity unit called off an $847 million acquisition of a power station, in a sign of a spending slowdown, per the Financial Times. And on Monday, Adani decided against bidding for a stake in Indian electricity trader PTC in a move to keep hold of cash, Bloomberg reported.

Indian industrialist and billionaire founder Adani has cut expenses, repaid debt, and hired legal and communications teams to try to ease investor concerns about the group’s financial health and access to funds.

He is also working on improving financial oversight of the companies that control his business empire by appointing a financial controller to oversee his various trusts and other privately held companies.