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Gautam Adani highlighted the importance of engagement and strong communications
Mumbai:
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani explained to attendees at an event in Mumbai how the conglomerate responded to the false allegations in the Hindenburg affair, emerged stronger and recovered in a short time.
“As far as my first reaction was concerned, when the news came, I could see that the material published were old accusations, which had been recycled in another way. Such attacks were not new, and I felt that, like many previous attacks against us, “This too will pass quickly. In fact, it was business as usual,” Mr. Adani said.
Adani, however, acknowledges that it was a sophisticated form of attack on the conglomerate.
“The Hindenburg attack on Adani was the world’s largest attack on a company. I also have no hesitation in saying that this attack was a unique two-dimensional attack, compared to typical short-seller attacks which are one-dimensional. This attack on us “No It only developed in the financial market but also in the political theater. “Both developed in tandem, complementing and reinforcing each other, ably supported by a section of the media, both in India and abroad,” Mr. Adani said.
He said the Adani Group “initially grossly underestimated the impact of this report.”
“However, very soon we understood the conspiracy and its depth. Unprecedented in handling a crisis of this nature and magnitude, we developed our own counter-strategy to handle it, and the rest, as they say, is history.” he said.
Explaining the measures taken by the conglomerate following the short-seller attack, Adani said the first step was to return the proceeds of the Rs 20,000-crore follow-on public offer (FPO) on “moral grounds”.
The Adani Group then created a strong cash fund of Rs 70,000 crore, prepaid Rs 17,500 crore of margin-linked financing and insulated CEOs and executives from the noise. “I told them to tighten their belts and focus on business,” Adani said.
The conglomerate further maintained the growth momentum and continued with expansion and new projects like Khavda, Dharavi and copper smelter, just to name a few. They created a war room and answered all questions, Adani said, adding that they ran an extensive engagement program with all stakeholders.
The two key takeaways, according to Adani, are that cash is king and the importance of engagement and strong communications with all stakeholders.
“Our biggest learning was that doing a good job is not enough; we must also tell our story. We need to communicate more, and communicate in a timely and more effective manner,” Adani said.
“I would also like to conclude by sharing that, in this whole Hindenburg affair, what hurt me the most was that many retail shareholders lost money. I feel very bad for them, since they lost money for no reason. There was never any truth in all those accusations, and this was later confirmed when our companies regained their financial value in the capital markets,” said the Adani group chairman.
(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani group company).