Shares of eight out of ten listed Adani Group companies witnessed a sharp decline during Friday’s morning trade following charges against billionaire Gautam Adani by US prosecutors. He has been charged with being involved in a scheme to pay a USD 265 million (approximately Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials to secure favourable terms for solar power contracts. However, Adni Group has denied this allegation and termed it "baseless."
Adani Green Energy took the biggest hit, plunging by 10.95%, while Adani Energy Solutions saw a drop of 8.57%, both touching their 52-week lows at Rs 637.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises, the flagship entity of the group, also slumped 6.98%, reaching its 52-week low of Rs 2,030.
Shares of Adani Power tanked 6.38 per cent, Adani Total Gas went lower by 6.11 per cent, Adani Ports declined 5.31 per cent, Adani Wilmar plunged 5.17 per cent to hit the one-year low of Rs 279.20 and NDTV dipped 3.41 per cent. In contrast, ACC and Ambuja Cements were trading over 2 per cent higher even after falling in the opening deals.
In the equity market, the BSE benchmark Sensex quoted 781.02 points higher at 77,936.81 and the NSE Nifty climbed 228.90 points to 23,578.80. Shares of Adani group firms fell sharply on Thursday.
The stock of Adani Enterprises had plunged 22.61 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions tanked 20 per cent, Adani Green Energy plummeted 18.80 per cent, Adani Ports dived 13.53 per cent, Ambuja Cements cracked 11.98 per cent, and Adani Total Gas tumbled 10.40 per cent on the BSE. Shares of Adani Wilmar declined 9.98 per cent, Adani Power slumped 9.15 per cent, ACC fell 7.29 per cent, and NDTV dipped 0.06 per cent.
Adani group on Thursday denied charges of paying bribes to secure favourable terms for solar power contracts, saying the allegations by US prosecutors are baseless and the conglomerate is compliant with all laws. It said all possible legal recourse will be sought. "The allegations made by the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied," the group spokesperson said in a statement.
(With inputs from PTI)
