Legal overhang drags Adani Group stocks; Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy fall by up to 14%

Shares of Adani Group companies witnessed sharp selling pressure on Friday, falling by as much as 14%, after reports said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking court approval to advance legal proceedings involving senior executives of the power-to-ports conglomerate.

Among group stocks, Adani Green Energy was the worst hit, plunging nearly 14% to ₹778 on the BSE, followed by Adani Energy Solutions, which declined about 12% to ₹816. The group’s flagship, Adani Enterprises, fell 10% to ₹1,879, while Adani Ports & SEZ dropped over 8% to ₹1,299. Other companies also ended sharply lower, with Ambuja Cements, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, NDTV, and Sanghi Industries losing between 5% and 6%. ACC shares slipped around 3%.

Meanwhile, the broader equity benchmarks also traded lower, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty declining by up to 0.8% during the session.

U.S. SEC seeks court approval to issue summons

According to media reports, the U.S. market regulator has approached a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, seeking permission to proceed with issuing legal summons to Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani. The application was filed earlier this week before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, the reports noted.

The SEC has reportedly asked the court to allow alternative methods of serving the summons, including direct electronic communication, after repeated attempts through conventional diplomatic and legal channels failed. Court filings indicate that efforts to serve notices through Indian authorities were unsuccessful, with India declining two earlier requests, prompting the regulator to seek approval for direct service.

The SEC’s lawsuit, filed in November 2024, alleges that Gautam and Sagar Adani violated U.S. securities laws by making false and misleading statements related to Adani Green Energy Ltd. In June last year, Gautam Adani had said that despite ongoing scrutiny, no Adani Group entity or executive had been charged with violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or with obstruction of justice.

The Adani Group has been under heightened global scrutiny since early 2023, following a short-seller report and subsequent investigations by Indian regulators and U.S. authorities. In November 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Gautam Adani and other executives on governance-related issues, while the SEC initiated civil proceedings.

Rating agencies turn constructive despite legal overhang

Despite the legal overhang, global rating agencies have recently taken a more constructive view. Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch upgraded the outlook for several Adani Group restricted entities and reaffirmed their ratings, citing strong operating performance, fully amortising debt structures, and robust project frameworks.

Moody’s affirmed the senior secured ratings on two U.S. dollar bonds issued by Adani Green Energy Ltd’s restricted groups—AGEL Restricted Group 1 and Restricted Group 2—and revised the outlook on all ratings to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’, noting limited progress in legal proceedings and uncertainty over the timing of their resolution.

Fitch Ratings also revised the outlook on Adani Ports & SEZ’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating and unsecured note rating to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’, while affirming the ratings at ‘BBB-’. Fitch cited easing contagion risks and the group’s continued access to diversified funding sources, despite the November 2024 U.S. indictment related to board members of Adani Green Energy.

Fitch noted that Adani Group entities have raised over $24 billion from a mix of onshore and offshore lenders even after the indictment. Of this, Adani Energy Solutions secured around $1.6 billion from domestic banks and the rupee bond market, along with an additional $200 million from foreign banks since November 2024 to fund ongoing capital expenditure.

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