Adani Energy to pick banks for US$600 million share sale

GAUTAM Adani’s power transmission unit has selected investment banks to arrange a share sale that could raise at least US$597 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Adani Energy Solutions are working with advisers including ICICI Securities, Jefferies Financial Group and SBI Capital Markets to prepare for the so-called qualified institutional placement, or QIP, the people said. The share sale could be concluded by mid-August, Bloomberg News reported earlier this week.

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the fundraising including bank lineup could still change, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Representatives for ICICI Securities, Jefferies and SBI Capital declined to comment, while a representative for Adani couldn’t immediately comment.

A share sale by Adani Energy would mark the Indian conglomerate’s first foray into public equity markets since a short-seller’s report early last year wiped away billions in market values. The board of Adani Energy in May approved a plan to raise as much as 125 billion rupees (S$2 billion) through various methods.

Adani Energy is India’s largest private sector power utility and operates more than 21,100 circuit kilometres of transmission lines, according to its website. The company has a target of ramping up to 30,000 ckm by 2030 by tapping both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, it said. BLOOMBERG