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Adani Enterprises, which had to cancel its ₹20,000-crore follow-on public offer in February following minimal retail participation, is now again back to raise up to ₹12,500 crore through a private placement of shares.
Another group company Adani Transmission will also be raising up to ₹8,500 crore through a similar mode, for a combined amount of ₹21,000 crore or about $2.6 billion at current exchange rates. The boards of both companies met on Saturday to approve the fundraising.
The board of Adani Green Energy, which was also scheduled to meet on Saturday to raise funds has postponed its meeting to May 23. Sources had earlier told businessline that investors in Europe and the Middle East had expressed interest in investing in the companies.
The group needs funds chiefly to pay down debt that matures over the next several years, while there are a number of expansion plans that it has embarked on. At the time of Adani Enterprises FPO, the group had said that over half of the money raised would be used to invest in new initiatives such as green hydrogen, airports and roads. Company insiders indicated that usage of the funds to be raised now will be along the same lines though more of it could go towards repayment of debt.
The group ended FY23 with a gross debt of ₹2.27 lakh crore, with over a third of its exposure in the form of bonds that have a fairly extended maturity profile. The group has relied more on overseas bond issuances to raise funds while just under a third of its exposure is to Indian financial institutions.
Recently Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone redeemed $130 million worth of bonds maturing in 2024 and it was overwhelmingly oversubscribed by bondholders seeking an early exit.
In the aftermath of damaging allegations by Hindenberg Research against the group, the management had held several roadshows in India and overseas seeking to assure investors of no material refinancing risk with enough near-term liquidity resources.
The companies will be seeking shareholder approval for the proposal to raise funds.
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