Adani Group JV in talks to borrow $220 million in first loan since Hindenburg

Signage atop the Adani Group headquarters in Ahmedabad, India, on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. A meeting was held in London Wednesday, as a part of a worldwide roadshow aimed at reassuring international investors that the ports-to-power empire’s finances are under control, after as much as $153 billion in combined market value was erased from company stocks following a January short seller’s report. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg

An Adani Group joint venture with EdgeConneX is in talks with about half a dozen banks for a loan of about $220 million, which would be the conglomerate's first offshore borrowing since it was targeted by shortseller Hindenburg Research.

Data centre provider AdaniConneX Private Ltd plans to use the money for capital expenditure, with a five-year tenor under discussion, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The loan may be signed in the next few weeks, they said.

A representative for Adani Group declined to comment.

The conglomerate backed by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been forced to reevaluate its ambitions after US-based Hindenburg accused it of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. While the group has denied the allegations, its stock and bond prices slumped.

Flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. in January shelved a plan to raise as much as 10 billion rupees ($121 million) in what would have been its first public sale of bonds.

Data compiled by Bloomberg show no US dollar bonds and loans taken out by Adani Green Energy Ltd., Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. and Adani Enterprises Ltd. since the report was released.

Adani Group executives met US investors as part of its plans to market privately placed bonds of as much as $1 billion in two tranches this year, Bloomberg reported late last month, citing people familiar with the matter.