Adani Enterprises' first Indian retail bond fully subscribed

Adani Enterprises' ADEL.NS first retail bond was fully subscribed at its launch on Wednesday, local Indian stock exchange data showed, in a rare issue on the market.

While the Indian group has raised money from institutional investors since US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation in January 2023, the new bond is the first test of retail demand.

The allegations, which Adani has repeatedly denied, sparked a $150 billion meltdown in shares of companies in the group.

Group share prices have recovered since much of the losses, prompting Adani to return to the capital markets. Adani Enterprises did not respond to requests for comment.

Adani Enterprises plans to raise up to 8 billion rupees ($95.32 million) via the bond sale, including a greenshoe option of 4.85 billion rupees, and had received bids worth 4.39 billion rupees as of 4:45 p.m. local time (1115 GMT), the data showed.

Such retail bond sales are rare and Adani is the first non-financial company to issue them since 2016.

In July, Adani Energy Solutions raised $1 billion through an institutional share sale. Adani Enterprises is also planning a $1 billion share sale, Reuters reported.

"The demand is in line with what we was expected, and has come from retail investors as well as high net-worth individuals which were the primary target audience," said one of the bankers involved, who declined to be named.

The issue, rated A+ by CareEdge, closes on Sept. 17.

Adani Enterprises as well as bankers and online platforms, through whom retail investors subscribe to these bonds, have marketed the issue through webinars and social media.

Its lead arrangers Trust Investment Advisors, AK Capital Services and Nuvama Wealth Management did not respond to requests for comment.

The bonds offer coupons of between 9.25 per cent and 9.9 per cent based on maturities ranging from 24 months to 60 months. This compares to 10 per cent-11 per cent yields for similarly rated non-banking finance firms.