Eight Adani Group stocks settle lower amid Hindenburg-SEBI row

Shares of eight of the 10 Adani Group firms ended lower on Monday after facing severe drubbing during morning trade as US short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani's brother Vinod Adani to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.

The Adani Group firms, however, managed to recover most of their sharp early declines.

At close of trade, the stock of Adani Wilmar slumped 4.14 per cent, Adani Total Gas went lower by 3.88 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions dropped 3.70 per cent, NDTV fell by 3.08 per cent, Adani Ports dipped 2.02 per cent, Adani Enterprises declined 1.09 per cent, ACC (0.97 per cent) and Adani Power (0.65 per cent) on the BSE.

However, two of the group firms bounced back, with Ambuja Cements climbing 0.55 per cent and Adani Green Energy rising by 0.22 per cent.

During early trade, shares of Adani Energy Solutions nosedived 17 per cent, Adani Total Gas tanked 13.39 per cent, NDTV plunged 11 per cent and Adani Power dropped 10.94 per cent.

Stocks of Adani Green Energy declined 6.96 per cent, Adani Wilmar slumped 6.49 per cent, Adani Enterprises tumbled 5.43 per cent, Adani Ports dived 4.95 per cent, Ambuja Cements skidded 2.53 per cent and ACC dipped 2.42 per cent.

The combined market valuation of all the ten firms stood at Rs 17 lakh crore.

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended lower by 56.99 points or 0.07 per cent at 79,648.92. The NSE Nifty dipped 20.50 points or 0.08 per cent to 24,347.

"The Indian market concluded relatively flat, with its initial path being eclipsed by continuation of the Adani-Hindenburg-SEBI saga. However, the market tried to brush away these noises, taking positive cues from global markets," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch issued a statement calling Hindenburg's latest tirade an attack on the credibility of SEBI, and attempted "character assassination".

In a joint statement on Sunday, the couple said the investments were made in 2015 — well before her appointment as a full-time member of SEBI in 2017 and her subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022 — in their capacity as "private citizens living in Singapore". These funds became "dormant" on her appointment to SEBI.

"SEBI was tasked with investigating investment funds relating to the Adani matter, which would include funds Ms Buch was personally invested in and funds by the same sponsor which were specifically highlighted in our original report. This is obviously a massive conflict of interest," Hindenburg said in its new report, released on the night of 10 August.

Adani Group on Sunday termed Hindenburg Research's latest allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information, saying it has no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husband.