Bill Ackman says Adani Group allegations ‘highly credible,’ compares to Herbalife

Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman endorsed Hindenburg Research’s allegations of fraud at Adani Group as “highly credible” on Thursday – and even likened the India-based conglomerate to Herbalife, the supplements seller that he tried and failed to topple after calling it a “pyramid scheme.”

“Adani’s response to @HindenburgRes is the same as @Herbalife’s response to our original 350-page presentation. Herbalife remains a pyramid scheme,” the Pershing Square Capital boss tweeted on Thursday night.

“I found the Hindenburg report highly credible and extremely well researched. @AdaniOnline response speaks volumes. Caveat emptor,” added Ackman, who after an arduous five-year battle, exited his short position on Herbalife in 2018.

Led by Gautam Adani, the world’s fourth-richest person, the sprawling Adani Group business empire has lost more than $51 billion in value in two days of trading since the damning allegations surfaced, according to Bloomberg. India’s stock market was closed for a holiday on Thursday.

Ackman said his firm was “not invested long or short in any of the Adani companies or Herbalife” at present and has not done any research to corroborate Hindenburg’s claims. He said his tweet on the subject were based on his own “judgment” rather than due diligence.

The Post has reached out to Adani Group and Herbalife for comment on Ackman’s remarks.

The flagship entity Adani Enterprises declined by nearly 19% in Friday trading in what was its steepest plunge since 2017. Hindenburg’s report surfaced just before Adani Enterprises embarked on a $2.5 billion share sale.

Hindenburg accused Adani of leading “the largest con in corporate history” through stock manipulation and other alleged malfeasance. The influential firm said it had taken a short position on Adani and indicated its findings were based on a two-year investigation.

“We have uncovered evidence of brazen accounting fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering at Adani, taking place over the course of decades,” Hindenburg claimed in the note.

Adani Group described the allegations as “baseless” and said it was exploring potential legal action against Hindenburg. The India-based corporate giant also suggested that Hindenburg had a clear financial interest in seeing its shares fall.

“We are deeply disturbed by this intentional and reckless attempt by a foreign entity to mislead the investor community and the general public,” Adani Group legal officer Jatin atin Jalundhwala said in a statement.

In response, Hindenburg said Adani “hasn’t addressed a single substantive issue we raised” and that it would “welcome” a lawsuit.

“If Adani is serious, it should also file suit in the US where we operate. We have a long list of documents we would demand in a legal discovery process,” Hindenburg said.