Hindenburg's Nate Anderson says stands by Adani report, closure not due to any threat

Activist short-seller Nathan Anderson closes Hindenburg Research after high-profile campaigns, stands by reports, denies conspiracies, and moves on.

Activist short-seller Nathan Anderson, known for his high-profile campaigns against the likes of Adani Group, said he is closing his firm, Hindenburg Research, not because of any threat — legal or otherwise — and that he stands by all its reports.

Mr. Anderson told PTI that Hindenburg’s January 2023 report accusing Adani Group of “the largest con in corporate history” was a result of following “red flags” raised against the conglomerate in media reports.

Adani group had repeatedly denied all allegations in the report.

He termed as “goofy conspiracy” the attempts by some to link Hindenburg with alleged anti-India groups like OCCRP and George Soros, saying his outlet never commented on them as it followed the policy of not feeding into “silly conspiracy theories”.

Mr. Anderson, who came to be known for meticulously detailed reports against companies he alleged were committing fraud, last month announced shutting down his forensic research firm nearly eight years after he founded it.

Also read: Hindenburg Research | With an eye for fraud

Asked why he chose to shut down Hindenburg when he could have stepped back and passed on the reins of the company to someone else, he said there is “no way to separate me from the brand”. “Hindenburg is basically synonymous with me,” he said. “If it was a software application or a bicycle factory you can sell the application or the factory. But when it’s research driven by me, you can’t really just hand that off, and so I would not actually be ‘done’. But I am happy to support the team if they want to launch a new brand, which I expect they will.” Mr. Anderson, who first shot to fame with a report against electric truck company Nikola and had gone after the companies of major financial figures, including Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises LP, had last month blamed the “intensity and focus” of the job for the decision to wind up.