Adani decides against bid for stake in state-backed PTC India - Bloomberg News

PTC India

20/02/2023 13:01

BENGALURU, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Adani Group's billionaire
founder Gautam Adani has decided against bidding for a stake in
electricity trader PTC India Ltd  PTCI.NS  as the beleaguered
conglomerate looks to conserve cash amid a short seller attack,
Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
    Bloomberg reported in January that Adani was among the
possible bidders reviewing preliminary information on the
state-run Mumbai-listed company. Adani will not proceed with any
offer for the energy trading firm, the report said, citing
people familiar with the matter.
    Adani Group and PTC India did not immediately respond to
Reuters' requests for comment.
    The reported decision to back out of the bid comes amid
investor concerns regarding the financial health of the group
after a U.S. short seller alleged improper use of offshore tax
havens, stock manipulation and high debt levels - allegations
the Adani Group has rejected.
    The conglomerate had earlier said that its companies face no
material refinancing risk or liquidity issues in the near term. 
    State-run companies Power Grid Corporation  PGRD.NS , Power
Finance Corporation  PWFC.NS , NTPC  NTPC.NS , and NHPC
 NHPC.NS  were reported to be planning to sell their about 4%
stakes each in PTC India in late December. 
    A 16% stake in PTC India could be valued at $52 million,
according to latest prices.
 (Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten
Donovan)
 ((varunvyas.hebbalalu@thomsonreuters.com;))