Adani’s Power Utility Firm Said to Plan $597 Million Share Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Gautam Adani’s power transmission unit is considering raising at least 50 billion rupees ($597 million) through a share sale, making the Indian conglomerate’s first foray into public equity markets since a scathing short-seller’s report wiped away billions in shareholder value.

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd. is looking to raise funds through a so-called qualified institutional placement, or QIP, and plans to conclude the share sale by mid-August, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. The utility had received board approval in May to raise as much as 125 billion rupees through various modes.

Through this fund raise, Adani Energy is looking to bring in more institutional investors, including some from the US. The expansion of the investor base is aimed at drawing in more research analysts to cover the firm, said one of the people.

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the fundraising, including size, could still change, the people said. An Adani Group representative couldn’t immediately comment when reached by phone.

Adani Energy is India’s largest private sector power utility and operates more than 21,100 ckm or circuit kilometers (or ckm) of transmission lines, according to its website. The company has a target of ramping up to 30,000 ckm of transmission lines by 2030 by tapping both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, it said.

On Thursday, the company reported a net loss of 8.24 billion rupees for the April to June quarter.

The ports-to-power conglomerate, led by Asia’s second-richest person, is back to fundraising and aggressively expanding its businesses after growth plans were derailed last year by a scathing report from short-seller Hindenburg Research.

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