Bill Ackman says Hindenburg's Adani report 'highly credible' (updated)

Herbalife

27/01/2023 03:45

(Adds details from tweet, background)
       Jan 27 (Reuters) - Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman
said on Thursday that he found short-seller Hindenburg
Research's report on India's Adani Group "highly credible and
extremely well researched."
     Shares in seven listed group companies of Adani lost $10.73
billion in market capitalization in India on Wednesday after the
U.S. short-seller released the report, which accused the
conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens.
    Hindenburg's report also said it held short positions in
Adani Group through its U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded
derivative instruments. 
    Adani Group has said that it is  evaluating "remedial and
punitive action" against Hindenburg, calling the report
"maliciously mischievous, (and) unresearched."
    Shortly after, Hindenburg said it will demand documents in
legal discovery process if Adani Group files a lawsuit in the
United States.
    "Adani's response to Hindenburg is the same as Herbalife's
response to our original 350-page presentation. Herbalife
remains a pyramid scheme. I found the Hindenburg report highly
credible and extremely well researched," Pershing Square boss
Ackman said in a tweet on Thursday.    
        "We are not invested long or short in any of the Adani
companies or Herbalife, nor have we done our own independent
research," he added. 
  
        Ackman bet $1 billion against Herbalife starting in
2012, saying it violated Chinese direct-selling laws and was a
pyramid scheme. 
  
        He exited his short in Herbalife at a loss in 2018 when
his bets went awry, with the shares of the weight management and
nutrition company rising more than 150%.
        Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters
request for comment. 
  
 (Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann
Thoppil)
 ((Akriti.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))