The Adani Group will take a decision on divesting stake or exiting Adani Wilmar in the next three months, said Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh. The company, which makes and sells staples and edible oil, listed recently on the bourses. There have been reports swirling around of the group planning to exit the FMCG business.
Singh said the group strategy is to be among the top three players in any business. He said the group had to decide to either scale up the company or deploy the capital elsewhere. “That is what we will decide over the next three months,” he said. The promoter stake also has to be brought down to 75 per cent as per norms. The group currently holds around 44 per cent stake in it.
fund raise
With regard to the planned equity raise of ₹21,000 crore by four group companies through institutional placements, Singh said that none of the operational companies were in dire need of capital.
However, there are certain external investors who were interested in picking up stake. “We haven’t decided whether to go for that as yet.” Singh said a decision has to be taken whether to have the investors as part of the portfolio. The promoter also had the option to bring in the required equity.
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The board approvals and shareholder approvals for the QIPs are already in place, and commentaries by individual companies at recent analyst calls had indicated that the fund raises are likely early next year.
Singh said the group recorded EBITDA of ₹42,000 crore in the first half year of FY24, and expects to end the full year in the range of ₹72,000 crore to ₹75,000 crore.
He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a debt capital markets conference organised by the Trust Group. The proposed domestic bond issuances by Adani Ports and Adani Enterprises, put on hold recently, will now be undertaken next year, said Singh.