Adani Group Seeks To Sell Ambuja Cement's Shares Worth $450 Million To Reduce Debt: Report

The report said that Adani group on Thursday made a formal request to international lenders to sell 4 to 5 per cent of Ambuja Cement. The group owns 63 per cent of Ambuja Cement. 

Adani Group is seeking to sell shares of Ambuja Cement worth $450 million in a bid to reduce debt and restore investor confidence in the company, reported the Financial Times (FT) on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Citing three people with direct knowledge of the plan, the report said that Adani group on Thursday made a formal request to international lenders to sell 4 to 5 per cent of Ambuja Cement. The group owns 63 per cent of Ambuja Cement. 

Adani Group last year acquired Holcim AG's cement firms Ambuja Cement and ACC Ltd in a $10.5 billion deal. It was Adani Group's largest-ever acquisition. The company became India's second-largest cement manufacturer after the purchase. 

With the move, Adani is hoping to regain investor trust and soothe investor fears over its debt in the wake of a damning US short-seller report.

Last week, Adani group had announced that it has prepaid share-backed financing of Rs 7,374 crore ($902 million) ahead of its latest maturity in April 2025. According to Adani group along with the repayments done earlier in the month of February, Adani has prepaid $2,016 million of share-backed financing, which is consistent with the promoters’ commitment to prepay all share-backed financing before March 32 2023. 

Additionally, it was also reported that the group has paid back a $500 million bridge loan taken for the Ambuja Cement and ACC Ltd deal. 

The billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has been looking to ease concerns about its credit profile after a US-based short seller noted high debt and alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. The group has denied all allegations, calling them "malicious", "baseless" and a "calculated attack on India".

A private Adani family entity sold stakes in four publicly traded group firms to Florida-based asset management GQG Partners this month for $1.9 billion. The company is also doing an international roadshow which began in Singapore and Hong Kong before moving to Dubai and London and will continue in the US.