BlackRock, Inc. has made a big bet on the Adani Group, snapping up nearly a third of about $1 billion bonds sold by a group promoter entity, marking the first investment in any Adani entity by the world’s largest asset manager.
Apart from BlackRock, at least five other top global funds also bought the bonds privately placed by Renew Exim, an Adani Group promoter firm, two people aware of the matter said.
“BlackRock is one of these investors. There are a few European investors as well,” one of the two people said on the condition of anonymity, adding that most of the money raised will be utilized for the acquisition of ITD Cementation, while the rest will be used for funding the capex plans of other Adani group firms. Renew Exim DMCC, in October, had proposed to acquire 46.64% in ITD Cementation India, and buy an additional 26% through an open offer.
BlackRock’s vote of confidence comes in the backdrop of ongoing litigation in a US court against the conglomerate’s promoters over a case of alleged bribery. Adani Green’s promoters were indicted in the US last year, over charges that they have denied as baseless and vowed to contest.
“Renew Exim will hold 67.45% in ITD Cementation after the completion of the open offer. The total amount for the acquisition of ITD Cementation would cost around ₹5,000 crore. The proceeds from the latest bond placement by the promoter entity will be used for the expansion of other group companies,” said the first person.
Adani Group has planned a ₹5 trillion capex over the next five years. About 85% of this will be for utilities such as green energy, other power generation projects, power transmission projects, airports and ports. The remaining 15% is planned to be spent on metals, materials and mining.
A 31 March report by Mint said Adani Group, whose renewable arm is planning to mobilize a total of $4-5 billion across FY26, has stated in its recent roadshows that it has deep access to diverse pools of capital, securing large amounts for long durations.
However, as foreign investors started demanding interest rates of 7-9% for the group’s bonds following the bribery charges, Adani Group has been attempting to restore the confidence of foreign investors, and preferring to raise capital in the domestic market only.
The two persons said the private placement issue size is a little under $1 billion and the bond tenure is over three years, which is considered to be medium-term debt papers, reflecting confidence among investors in the group’s growth prospects.
“Adani stakeholders are seeing this as a major move as the entry of BlackRock is now seen as the global investors are not much worried about the ongoing DoJ case,” said the first person.
On Wednesday, the ITD Cementation open offer was concluded, with 20.81% shares being tendered by the public. On 30 January, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved Adani’s proposal to acquire a majority stake in ITD Cementation, an engineering and construction company undertaking heavy civil, infrastructure and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business and operating in India and overseas.
“This acquisition marks a significant milestone as it enhances the overall projects execution capabilities and strategically positioning Adani portfolio companies to capitalize on the burgeoning opportunities in the country’s booming infrastructure sector,” said the second person.
On 3 March, Adani Green Energy refinanced its maiden construction facility, having outstanding debt of $1.06 billion with long-term financing, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. It was the first major fund raise by Adani Group since the DoJ indicted its top executives.
