Adani Power Ltd. shares rose after GQG Partners bought 8.1 percent of the firm’s total outstanding stock for about $1.1 billion through block deals, according to people familiar with the matter.
The thermal power generation owned by billionaire Chairman Gautam Adani advanced as much as 3.1 percent on Thursday in Mumbai trading after the US investor bought more than 310.9 million shares the day before. The stake was purchased from Adani family entities Worldwide Emerging Market Holding Ltd. and Afro Asia Trade and Investments Ltd., according to stock exchange data.
The embattled power-to-port conglomerate has sought international backing and funding in a bid to recover from a damaging short seller attack earlier this year. This is one of the largest bulk deals by the Adani family, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
This deal comes days after the auditor of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. resigned, fueling concerns about accounting quality at the Indian conglomerate after the tycoon has attempted to restore credibility following a crisis triggered by Hindenburg Research’s report in January.
The US shortseller alleged that Adani Group engaged in years-long corporate fraud and stock price manipulation, charges that the company has repeatedly denied. It nevertheless fueled a major stock and bond sell off from which the conglomerate has only partly recovered from.
The block deal also comes after the Qatar Investment Authority bought a roughly 2.7 percent stake in the listed green energy business earlier this month.
“Sale of more shares in Adani companies could help meet the group’s large funding needs and fund growth, assuming governance concerns persist and lead to weakened funding access,” Sharon Chen, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, wrote in a re-search note on Wednesday. Adani’s family “could raise more than $15 billion while maintaining control of its key listed entities based on Monday’s share prices,” she said.
