The Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company PJSC has invested almost $2bn in three companies owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, as his ports-to-power conglomerate looks to fund its expansion plans.
Adani Enterprises Ltd, the group’s flagship firm, is raising 77bn rupees ($1.02bn) by issuing preferential shares to IHC while Adani Green Energy Ltd and Adani Transmission Ltd will receive 38.5bn rupees via the same equity instrument, according to Indian exchange filings Friday. Shares of Adani Transmission advanced 3.7% in Mumbai, Adani Enterprises rose 3.4% and Adani Green jumped 7.2%.
The funding shows rising interest among global investors to partake a piece of Adani Group, helmed by Asia’s richest person, that has rapidly diversified from operating ports and power plants to renewable energy, airports, data centres, digital services and media among others. The first-generation entrepreneur Adani has embarked on an ambitious plan to invest as much as $70bn across the green energy value chain by 2030.
“Adani group’s green portfolio as well as India’s commitment to clean energy make it a compelling proposition for investors,” said Deven Choksey, managing director at KRCHoksey Investment Managers Pvt. “Besides giving Adani equity money to invest in new initiatives such as green hydrogen, it can also help the group tap the solar-rich market of Middle East.”
“This is a landmark transaction and marks a start of a wider relationship between The Adani Group and IHC and attracting further investment from UAE into India,” Sagar Adani, executive director at Adani Green, said in the statement.
The funding shows the Adani Group’s pivotal position in India’s clean energy transition. As it chases the target of turning net carbon zero by 2070, the country is seeking to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels with a massive expansion of renewables generation capacity as well as new technologies such as green hydrogen and energy storage - all areas that Adani is focusing on.
“The opportunity to earn a compelling return on investment in green energy has never been greater,” Syed Basar Shueb, IHC’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We are confident that Adani companies will play a significant role in unleashing India’s total green energy potential.”
The group’s diversification and the green pivot has led to a runaway rally in Adani firms’ shares, boosting the tycoon’s net worth to $105.6bn - raking the world’s largest wealth gain, dwarfing other billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Adani’s compatriot, Mukesh Ambani.
IHC and Adani Group aim to grow this partnership across multiple opportunities spotted in India, the Middle East and Africa, according to the statement which did not give details on how the investment will be used beyond saying it will fund growth and strengthen the balance sheet.
IHC is the United Arab Emirates’s second largest company by market value and is led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan - UAE’s national security adviser.
The investment in Adani Transmission was “credit positive,” Spencer Ng, vice president, Moody’s Investors Service said in a statement. It will “help alleviate some of the downward pressure on Adani Transmission’s credit metrics caused by its substantial pipeline of growth projects over the next 3-4 years,” he said. The transactions are expected to be completed in a month, after all necessary approvals are obtained.