Adani Enterprises shelves US$122 million bond plan: Report

Adani Enterprises has shelved a plan to raise as much as 10 billion Indian rupees (US$122 million), Bloomberg News reported on Saturday (Feb 4).

The flagship firm of beleaguered Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's business empire had initially planned the public note issuance for last month, and was working with Edelweiss Financial Services, AK Capital, JM Financial and Trust Capital.

But activity has now stopped, the Bloomberg report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Adani Enterprises called off its US$2.5 billion share sale in a dramatic reversal on Wednesday, after a rout sparked by a scathing report by United States short-seller Hindenburg Research wiped billions more off the value of the tycoon's stocks.

The Indian markets regulator is already investigating the matter, including the crash in the company's shares, any irregularities in the now-shelved share sale and any possible price manipulation, Reuters reported earlier this week.

A spokesperson for Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Edelweiss, AK Capital also did not respond to requests for comment, while JM Financial and Trust Capital could not be reached.

A report by Hindenburg Research last week alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the Adani Group.

It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.

Meanwhile, India's market regulator on Saturday said that Indian financial markets remain stable and continue to function in a transparent and efficient manner.

The statement by the Securities and Exchange Board of India comes amid a rout in shares of the Adani Group and follows a similar assurance from the central bank which said that the banking sector remained stable.

"During the past week, unusual price movement in the stocks of a business conglomerate has been observed," the regulator said without naming any specific entity.

It said mechanisms are in place to address excessive volatility in specific stocks, adding: "This mechanism gets automatically triggered under certain conditions of price volatility in any stock."

Any matters related to specific entities will be examined and appropriate action will be taken after due examination, the regulator said.