LIC, GQG, MFs LIC, lead $3.7 billion investment surge in Adani Group post-Hindenburg

During the fiscal year ended 31 March, Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC), Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners, Indian mutual funds (MFs), and domestic retail investors together injected approximately $3.7 billion or ₹32,571 crore into the group’s 10 listed companies, an analysis by Mint of data from BSE showed.

To be sure, during the same fiscal, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹33,945 crore across Adani group firms, except in Adani Energy Solutions, AWL Agri Business and Adani Total Gas Ltd.

In January 2023, US-based Hindenburg Research made a host of scathing allegations in a report against Adani group and its dealings while tagging the group for pulling the “biggest con in corporate history”.

However, following an apex court-monitored probe by market regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) last year, the Supreme Court gave a largely favourable verdict for Adani group in January 2024. Subsequently, Hindenburg’s announcement of closure of its operations in January 2025 led to the rush by domestic investors to buy shares of Adani group companies, the analysis by Mint suggests.

Also read | Adani Ports’ latest deal raises growth concerns—markets aren’t impressed 

Some other factors might have also helped in the resurgence of domestic investment in the group’s companies, according to experts.

“Hindenburg shutdown, correction in valuation and, potentially, the progress in execution of Adani’s key projects in power and infrastructure have played a major role in attracting investors,” the head of equity capital markets at a large global financial services firm said on condition of anonymity. 

Several Adani companies saw their stocks lose between 12% and 50% in market value after an allegation by the US Department of Justice or DoJ of a New York district court in November 2024. 

The DoJ had alleged that Gautam Adani and a few other promoter family members and group officials had bribed Indian government officials $250 million to secure solar energy contracts and that it had not disclosed this to investors while raising money from American and international investors. Adani Group had refuted these allegations.

Who bought how much

During the fiscal, LIC bought shares cumulatively worth around ₹3,575 crore across Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, Ambuja Cements Ltd and some others. 

Domestic MFs purchased shares worth at least ₹20,226 crore in almost all Adani group companies except in ACC Ltd and NDTV Ltd.

GQG Partners, which indulged in a buying spree of Adani company shares after the Hindenburg attack in 2023, also resumed its purchases. In FY25, it increased its holding cumulatively by about 10% in Adani Enterprises, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Green Energy Ltd (which was named in bribery allegations by the US Department of Justice or DoJ) and Adani Ports, worth at least ₹2,467 crore. 

Read this | BlackRock buys nearly third of Adani group promoters’ $1 bn private bonds

Domestic retail investors together bought shares worth ₹6,303 crore in Adani group companies, increasing the most in Adani Green during the fiscal.

In absolute terms, across all classes of investors, the most shares were bought of Adani’s holding firm (Adani Enterprises), Ambuja Cements, and the group’s ports (APSEZ) and power transmission (Adani Energy Solutions Ltd) businesses during the fiscal.

Adani Group controls most of the major airports in India along with a large infrastructure portfolio managed through eight listed group companies.

Breaking it down

MFs increased their holding the most (in terms of value) in Adani Ports ( ₹5,464.92 crore) and Ambuja Cements ( ₹3,453.6 crore) during the financial year, which saw several acquisitions by the group in the ports and cement space. 

LIC and GQG, on the other hand, purchased the most in the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises, while retail investors bought the most in Adani Green Energy Ltd.

Also read | Adani Green is weighing its biggest equity sale ever

All four classes of investors put together purchased at least 51.91 million shares in Adani Energy Solutions, 50.84 million shares in Adani Ports, 19.19 million shares in Adani Enterprises and 39.7 million shares in Adani Green during fiscal 2025, according to the Mint study. 

Together, these investors bought shares worth ₹6,003 crore in Adani Green and ₹6,721 crore in Adani Ports alone.

Earnings made a difference

According to a veteran market analyst who requested anonymity, MFs may have started seeing more value in Adani group stocks due to their earnings growth despite external events such as the allegations by DoJ in the US. 

He said in Adani’s holding firm, the growth may have come from two incubation businesses—solar energy equipment manufacturing (under Adani New Industries Ltd or ANIL) and airports (under Adani Airport Holdings Ltd).

“While ANIL’s operating income was up 121% in the April-December period of FY25, the airports business operating profit went up 42% in the first nine months of FY25. The upcoming 500ktpa copper smelter will also add close to 10-15% to the existing operating income of Adani Enterprises,” said the analyst.

He said in the case of Adani Ports, the company’s operating income grew by 19% for the April-December period, while the company increased guidance to ₹18,000 crore for FY25 after commencing operations at Vizhinjam, Kerala—India’s first trans-shipment port. Recently, the company commissioned a major ship terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Also read | Adani-baiter Hindenburg Research shuts shop—“from a place of joy”

Within the cement space too, the group, through Ambuja, the country’s second largest cement maker after Ultratech Ltd, aggressively expanded capacities during the fiscal through acquisitions. The group’s cement capacity increased from 78.9 mtpa last year to over 100 mtpa now.

The capacity of Adani Green, which saw maximum investment from retail investors, grew 30% in FY25—14.2 GW from 11 GW, but the stock fell steeply after DoJ’s allegations.

“Typically, the advantage of such businesses is that it can provide consistent cashflow, which by leveraging can be re-invested in similar projects. Also, the correction in stock prices of the group firms due to the DoJ allegations may have provided a good entry point for all investors,” said the analyst.

During fiscal 2025, prices of most Adani group firms corrected significantly on the bourses, with Adani Green stock falling by 48.25%, Adani Total Gas Ltd by 35%, Ambuja Cements by 12% and Adani Enterprises by 27.3%.

Adani Energy Solutions, whose order book tripled since 31 March 2024 to ₹57,561 crore, saw its stock falling by 15% in fiscal 2025. And Adani Power, which fell by about 5% in fiscal 2025, has guided doubling its capacity to 30 GW (from 15.25 GW in FY24) by FY30.

And read | Adani Group adopts strategy to manage, diversify borrowings in wake of Hindenburg crisis