Days After Acquiring Cement Firms, Gautam Adani Group Pledges Their Share
NDTV
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group pledged shares valued at about $13 billion in two Indian cement firms just days after it completed the acquisition.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group pledged shares valued at about $13 billion in two Indian cement firms just days after it completed the acquisition from Holcim Ltd., reflecting the world's second-richest person's hunger for capital as his ports-to-power conglomerate expands rapidly.
Stakes in two of those companies -- about 57% of ACC Ltd. and 63% in Ambuja Cements Ltd. -- have been encumbered “for the benefit of certain lenders and other finance parties,” according to separate filings made to Indian stock exchanges by Deutsche Bank AG's Hong Kong branch.
The transaction is a so-called non-disposal undertaking, which means the shares can't be sold until the debt is repaid.
The pledge comes as the tycoon's ambitious dealmaking in an array of new sectors from green energy to media raises concerns over the high level of debt across the Adani group.
