S&P Global Ratings downgraded Adani Ports and Adani Electricity to negative from stable while maintaining the rating.
The shares and bond prices of Adani Group firms have fallen dramatically as a result of a US short-seller research citing serious governance flaws for the Adani Group, many of which relate to disclosures and actions at the shareholder level.
Due to market volatility, the company has responded to the claims and opted to return cash from a fully subscribed USD 2.4 billion offer of shares in the promoters’ flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd.
“There is a risk that investor concerns about the group’s governance and disclosures are larger than we have currently factored into our ratings, or that new investigations and negative market sentiment may lead to increased cost of capital and reduce funding access for rated entities,” S&P said in a statement.
As a result, it changed the rating outlook for Adani Electricity and Adani Ports from stable to negative.
“We affirmed our issuer and issue ratings on the entities as their business fundamentals remain intact, short-term liquidity is adequate, and debt maturities in the next 12 months are manageable,” it added.