Shares of Gautam Adani-led companies saw a sharp decline of over 20 percent during Thursday’s trading session, with several high-risk counters hitting lower circuit limits. Amid this heavy sell-off, investors in 10 listed companies of the Adani Group, as the market opened, poured in Rs. 2.60 lakh crore was seen as a loss.
Adani shares fell sharply after US prosecutors indicted billionaire Gautam Adani and seven senior group executives in connection with a $250 million bribery scheme they allegedly hid from US investors.
The total market capitalization of all 10 listed companies of the Adani Group on Thursday fell to Rs. 11.91 lakh crore, which on Tuesday was Rs. 11.63 lakh crores. In the opening hours of this trading, approximately Rs. 2.60 lakh crore showing a loss.
Adani Energy Solutions was the worst hit, with shares falling 20 percent. Adani Green Energy saw a decline of around 18 per cent, while Adani Total Gas and Adani Power recorded declines of 13-14 per cent. Other companies like Adani Enterprises, Ambuja Cements, ACC and Adani Ports touch the lower circuit limit of 10 percent. Shares of NDTV fell 11 percent, Adani Wilmar fell 8 percent and newly acquired Sanghi Industries fell 6 percent.
The slowdown followed Adani’s green energy investment announcement on Wednesday, when the company’s chairman congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump. Trump’s promises to ease regulations for energy companies were seen as beneficial to Adani’s interests.
Adani Enterprises, the group’s parent company, on Tuesday raised Rs. 2,820.2 to Rs. At 2,256.2 it did the most damage, touching the lower circuit limit of 20 percent. The market capitalization of the company is Rs. 61,096.85 crore reduced to Rs. 2.60 lakh crore was done.
Nifty 50 constituent Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone also fell 20 percent to Rs. 1,031.25 and a market value of Rs. 55,688 crore was eroded. Adani Green Energy was the next biggest loser, with its shares down over 19 percent, taking its market capitalization to Rs. 42,887.68 crore was destroyed.
Adani Power fell 18 percent, resulting in a market value of about Rs. 36,000 crore in losses, while Adani Energy Solutions, formerly known as Adani Transmission, closed the circuit 20 percent lower, leading to a valuation of Rs. 21,000 crore was lost. In Adani Wilmar Rs. 4,289 crore with a market cap loss of 10 percent.
Acquired companies such as Ambuja Cements and ACC also suffered losses, with Ambuja down 18 percent and ACC down 15 percent. Ambuja has a market cap of Rs. 20,296 crores and ACC decreased by Rs. 5,700 crore was lost. Adani Group’s smallest stock, New Delhi Television (NDTV) traded on the day at a market capitalization of Rs. 157 crores, a decline of 14 percent was seen.
Why are Adani shares falling today?
US prosecutors accused Adani, 62, his nephew Sagar and other defendants of paying more than USD 250 million in bribes to Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to win solar energy contracts that could potentially bring in more than USD 2 billion in profits.
This, they alleged, was concealed from US banks and investors from whom the Adani group had raised billions of dollars for the project.
US law allows foreign corruption allegations to be pursued if they involve specific links to American investors or markets.
“The defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure multibillion-dollar contracts,” Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York who brought the case, said in a statement.
Adani, the chairman of port-to-energy Adani Group, his nephew Sagar R Adani, who is the executive director of the group’s renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy Ltd, and its former CEO Vineet Jain were charged with securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy. and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Adani was also charged in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case.
What did Adani say?
“The United States Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission have issued criminal charges and civil complaints against Gautam Adani, members of our board, and, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Sagar Adani. The United States Department of Justice has also implicated our board member, Vineet Jain, in such criminal charges,” Adani Green said in a BSE filing.
It added that “in light of these developments, our subsidiaries have decided not to proceed with the currently proposed USD denominated bond offering”.