Adani Promoters take home ₹1210 crore of the Qatar investment’s funding

• Adani Transmission completed a transaction where QIA will invest $452 million.
  
• Of this, as much as $170 million in equity part of investment will also go to the promoters who hold perpetual shares.
  
• This will only add to the already bulging coffers of Gautam Adani family whose net worth is pegged at $15.7 billion by Forbes.

The Gautam Adani and family just got richer by ₹1,210 crore (around $170 million) today. They sold stake in one of their many companies— around 25.1% of Adani Electricity to Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

It completed a transaction where QIA will invest ₹3,220 crore ($452 million) into the company, which is a part of Adani Transmission. Of this, ₹2,010 crore will go as its share of debt, while the rest is equity, the rest will all land in the hands of the promoter.

“Entire equity proceeds stake sale has been used by ATL towards return of the Perpetual to the tune of ₹1,209.62 crore in favor of contributory promoter entity,” said the press release. Consequently, the promoter perpetual outstanding will be reduced to ₹2,544.3 crore.

Perpetual stock is a kind of preference shares that promoters or any other entity can hold. It is favourable to the holder because it pays fixed dividends to the investors and has no maturity period or sale date associated with it. It can exist for as long as the company does.

Adani family’s net worth is bulging

This will only add to the already bulging coffers of Gautam Adani family whose net worth is pegged at $15.7 billion by Forbes. Adani is the fifth richest person in the country, according to Hurun list and has interests across ports, power and trading and is rapidly expanding into other infrastructure like airports and data centres.

While most of his wealth comes from his ports business, Adani Transmission is also one of his best performing stocks. In the last six months, the stock appreciated by 50% backed by at least five power transmission construction projects it won across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Its deal with QIA to sell stake in Adani Electricity that has a licence to supply power in Mumbai – also helped the stock gain.

After today’s announcement, the stock gained by around 1.5% to ₹337, as per data on BSE.

Adani Transmission too, has been on a fundraising spree in spite of slowdown in credit growth in India. Just last week, it raised as much as $1 billion in foreign currency debt. “It is the first by a private integrated utility from India. The issue generated significant interest from international investors and was oversubscribed by over 5.9 times,” the company had then said.

This so-raised debt, however, will be used to power on its plans to build transmission project bids that it has won.