If you’ve invested in a business connected to the Adani group, you’re probably keeping a close eye on the stock market. The market capitalization of the group lost close to Rs 4 lakh crore as a result of the share price collapse that has affected nine of its listed firms in a row.
All of this came about when US-based short seller Hindenburg Research charged the Adani group with performing the “biggest swindle in corporate history” by indulging in “brazen stock manipulation and estimation fraud” over two decades. The two years of research that went into Hindenburg’s report included dozens of interviews, the examination of numerous documents, and due diligence trips to nearly half a dozen other nations.
The Adani organization plied to the report as “maliciously nasty and unresearched” and stated that it was considering legal action. Hindenburg urged that the Adani group pursue a lawsuit in the US and stated that it would “welcome ” legal action.
Media outlets lined up to release carefully crafted news articles on what transpired. All sights were on NDTV, which the Adani group recently purchased.
But from January 25 till the afternoon of January 27, when it carried two PTI pieces, NDTV and its properties kept a circumspect quietness on the entire Hindenburg-Adani dispute (see here and here). First, after the accusations were made, the group’s stock price dropped, and second, the Congress party demanded a “serious probe.”
When this article was published, nothing else existed. The conclusions of Hindenburg Research were all about Elon Musk-Twitter, Nikola Corp, and Opera have previously been covered by NDTV organizations like NDTV Profit, Gadgets 360, and Car and Bike.
On January 26, Mint’s jacket had a “quick tweak.” It described the Hindenburg statement, how it affected shares, and the Adani group’s response, and was titled “Adani’s option.” It also stated that an investigation would determine whether it was not the claim was “ill-motivated” and that “pinning down wrongdoing” is a “task for professionals.”
The “rapid edit” concluded by stating that a business empire that is expanding quickly should anticipate increasing scrutiny and that its clearness must increase in line with this. It stated, “The Adani group confronts a decision. And it’s ideal if it decides to offer point-by-point refutations.
A paragraph about Hindenburg “welcoming” lawful action from the Adani group appeared on page 1 of Mint on January 27. On page 4, there was a thorough report with information on the FPO.
Finally, the Adani-Hindenburg scandal was the page 1 lead story on Financial Express on January 26. The FPO received a briefer story, with further information on page 9.
Adani was considering legal action on January 27, according to the top story on page 1. With statements from attorneys, Page 4 described the legal possibilities available to the Adani group, including lawsuits for denigration or damages and approaching SEBI. According to a different analysis from CLSA, state-owned lenders have “substantial exposure” to the Adani group.
A letter to the editor claiming that the Hindenburg statement was “intended to wreak maximum damage” was interestingly published in Financial Express as well. But “there is something really odd, not quite kosher, about the originator of the Adani group.”
Television networks including Zee Business, Wion, Times Now, CNBC-TV18, ET Now, and Business Today, all covered the Hindenburg-Adani scandal. Rajdeep Sardesai, Siddarth Zarabi of India Today and of Business Today both participated in the discussion.