Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) has announced that it will sell its stake in two of Gautam Adani’s Indian companies, dealing a blow to Adani’s business empire that has been facing allegations of accounting fraud. In April 2022, IHC had invested approximately $500 million each in Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, as well as $1 billion in Adani Enterprises. However, just 18 months after making these investments, IHC has found a buyer for its stakes in Adani Green and Transmission, reducing its exposure to Adani’s companies by 50 percent. The deal is seen as part of IHC’s strategy to rebalance its overall investment portfolio.
The decision by IHC to exit its investments in Adani’s companies follows accusations of accounting fraud and stock market manipulation made by US short seller Hindenburg Research eight months ago. These allegations triggered a massive sell-off, causing a temporary drop of $150 billion in the combined stock market value of Adani’s 10 listed companies. Adani has vehemently denied these allegations, and the share prices of his companies have since recovered some of their losses. However, the sale of IHC’s stakes in Adani Green and Transmission suggests that the negative impact of the fraud allegations persists.
The exact price at which IHC is selling its stakes has not been disclosed, but it is presumed that significant losses will be incurred as shares in both Adani Transmission and Adani Green are currently trading well below the price at which IHC entered into the investments. IHC’s move to sell its stakes is part of its overall portfolio rebalancing strategy. Adani Green is partially owned by French oil major TotalEnergies, while IHC’s stake in Adani Enterprises has not been mentioned in the regulatory paperwork regarding the deal. Neither IHC nor Adani have provided any immediate comments on the matter.