• Gautam Adani’s conglomerate saw its value plummet by nearly $ 70 billion.
• His group issued a 413-page response in an attempt to restore trust in the corporate empire.
• The response was ineffective, as stock prices for most group companies continued to tumble.

Adani group, Billionaire Gautam clung to a $ 400 million (Rs 3,260 crore) investment by Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. in its flagship firm’s share sale to restore confidence in the conglomerate, which saw its value plummet by nearly $ 70 billion after a tiny New York short seller issued a damning report.

Gautam Adani, 60, who was the world’s third richest man until a day before Hindenburg Research released its report on January 24 that raised concerns about its debt levels and alleged stock manipulation, accounting fraud, and the use of tax havens, has slipped to eighth place, closing the gap with rival Mukesh Ambani, whom he surpassed in April last year, to just $4 billion.

His group issued a 413-page response to the Hindenburg report late Sunday night in an attempt to restore trust in the corporate empire, but it was ineffective, as stock prices for most group companies continued to tumble and crucial dollar bonds fell to new lows on Monday.

The US short seller denied that its report on Adani Group’s wrongdoing was a “calculated attack” on India, claiming that a “fraud” cannot be disguised by nationalism or a bloated response that neglected major allegations.

Hindenburg published the analysis on January 24, the same day that Adani Enterprise Ltd’s 20,000-crore follow-on share offering became available to investors. While anchor investors poured about 6,000 crore into the FPO on that day, public subscription remained modest, with only 3% of the shares on offer being subscribed to as of Monday evening, according to the report.

The offer expires on January 31, and the retail investor part, which accounts for the majority of the FPO, is only 4% enrolled.

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IHC stated that it will invest around USD 400 million in Adani Enterprises’ follow-on share sale, stating that it remains faith in the conglomerate’s fundamentals despite the decline in share value. “We see a strong potential for growth from a long-term perspective and added value to our shareholders,” said its CEO, Syed Basar Shueb, in a statement.

Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and president’s brother, leads IHC.

In three days, ACC shares plunged 18.47 percent, Adani Enterprises lost 16.38 percent, Adani Wilmar fell 14.25 percent, Adani Power (14.24 percent), and NDTV fell 14.24 percent (14.22 per cent).

Between Tuesday last week and Monday, the group firms jointly lost over 5.56 lakh crore in market worth.