Adani Enterprises set to raise up to $2 billion through a QIP next week

Mumbai: Adani Enterprises is likely to raise up to $2 billion through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) by the middle of next week, sources aware of the development said.

Meanwhile, the Adani Group along with Wilmar will also launch the sale of around a 13% stake in Adani Wilmar by the end of this month or early in November, to cut down the promoter stake in the company to comply with listing regulations, sources said.

Adani Enterprises – the flagship company of the Adani Group – has already garnered a soft book of nearly $2 billion for the QIP from large US, European, Middle Eastern and Indian investors. The issue will be split into a base offer of $1.25 billion, with an additional green shoe option for $750 million.

Jefferies, ICICI Securities and SBI Capital have been appointed for this issue. The Adani Group did not respond to email queries.

In May this year, the company’s board had approved raising of up to ₹16,600 crore through a public sale of shares to institutional investors, in one or more tranches.

This fundraising through the equity route will be the first for Adani Enterprises after a report of US-based short seller Hindenburg accused the group of lapses in corporate governance.While Adani Enterprises had successfully completed raising ₹20,000 crore through a follow-on public offer early last year, the company returned the funds following a sharp correction in prices. In May 2023, its board approved raising ₹12,500 crore through a QIP, but the company did not proceed with the fundraising.In Adani Wilmar, the company that sells the Fortune brand of edible oils and staples, promoters’ stake needs to be cut to 75% from 87.87% to comply with local regulations that require listed companies to have a minimum of 75% of free float available for shareholders. Both Adani and Wilmar currently have 43.94% stake each in the company.

Adani Wilmar currently has a market capitalisation of ₹45,371 crore, implying that shares worth nearly ₹5,900 crore are likely to be sold when promoters pare their stake.

Group company Adani Energy Solutions raised $1 billion through a maiden fundraising through the QIP route in July this year, the largest in the Indian power sector. The issue saw bids of about six times the base deal size ($700 million) from a diverse group of investors, including utility-focused US investors entering India for the first time, sovereign wealth funds, major Indian mutual funds and insurance companies, the company said in a statement then.

In September, Adani Enterprises raised ₹800 crore through its maiden issue of non-convertible debentures. The group, as a whole, is looking to eventually double its exposure to the domestic debt market with 10% exposure of its total borrowings.

Promoters of the group are looking to sell shares worth ₹30,000 crore over the next nine months as they look to rebalance their portfolio in listed companies, sources had told ET in August.

The promoters will pare stakes in some listed firms while increasing them in others, with the final aim of the rebalancing exercise to have a 64-68% stake across firms.