Shares of India's Adani group took a nosedive on Thursday after the conglomerate decided to cancel its $2.5 billion share sale due to a chaotic market. This has caused a cumulative loss of $100 billion in the group's market capitalization since last week's attack by short-seller Hindenburg.
The cancellation of Adani Enterprises' share sale represents a major setback for billionaire Gautam Adani, who has seen his wealth and the value of his businesses rise dramatically in recent years. However, this situation changed as the stocks were hit by Hindenburg's criticisms, leading to the cancellation of the fully subscribed share sale and Adani's loss of the title of Asia's richest man.
Following the opening of trading on Thursday, Adani Enterprises saw a 10% drop, while other companies in the group, including Adani Ports, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission, Adani Power, and Adani Wilmar, suffered drops ranging from 5% to 10%.
This series of events is a humbling turn for Adani, who has forged relationships with foreign partners in his worldwide business ventures, which range from ports to mining to cement. According to Forbes, Adani's rank as the world's richest person has fallen from 3rd to 16th.
The Indian central bank has reportedly asked local banks for information about their exposure to the Adani group. CLSA estimates that Indian banks have exposure to around 40% of the Adani group's debt, which was worth 2 trillion rupees ($24.53 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2022.