💼 Brief Take: India’s Battle-Hardened Billionaires
Indian tycoons have shown resourcefulness that makes them formidable opponents.
Adani Group retained access to global lenders despite the legal risks in the US and a campaign by short-seller Hindenburg.
Another conglomerate, Vedanta Group, also shook off an attack by Viceroy Research after securing a crucial private credit facility.
A unit of Adani Group raised around USD 500 million through a bond privately placed with funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Bloomberg reported on 11 March 2026. A firm controlled by Adani Energy Solutions sold the 15-year private bonds with a rupee-equivalent all-inclusive cost of about 8.5% to refinance its dollar debt.
Eveline’s Take
The Indian conglomerate has retained access to global lenders despite the legal risks from an ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case in the US. The SEC’s fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani cleared a procedural hurdle to advance in the Brooklyn Court, Bloomberg reported in January 2026.
American short-seller Hindenburg Research also launched a campaign against Adani Group in 2023, alleging a wide range of wrongdoings including stock manipulation and corporate governance failures. The public bonds of some group companies took a beating right after Hindenburg’s attack, but they have since bounced back as funds bought them on the dip.
While the latest debt incurred by Adani Energy Solutions was in the form of a privately placed bond, the 15-year term signals that Apollo is comfortable with taking on such a long-term exposure. The conglomerate’s airport unit, Mumbai International Airport, also raised around USD 750 million in June 2025 from a group of investors including Apollo, according to the asset manager’s statement.
There are two key reasons why the conglomerate has been able to maintain its credit standing.
First, Gautam Adani’s relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly dates back to 2002, when the group’s patriarch was a businessman in Gujarat and Modi was chief minister of the state. Both men rose in tandem over the years, with Adani’s aggressive infrastructure expansion aligning with the Indian leader’s national development goals.
Second, the cases built by the US securities regulator and Hindenburg against Adani are seen in certain quarters as an attempt to impose Western standards on an emerging market like India. Some investors are sticking to Adani because they believe the SEC case might drag on for a while, a buyside friend said, adding that it should be a manageable scenario if the saga ends in a settlement or a fine.
Another Indian conglomerate, Vedanta Group, has also been able to shake off the attack of Viceroy Research last year, as some of its dollar notes have delivered gains.
The short-seller’s allegations hardly made a dent on Vedanta, as the group controlled by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal had already passed the trial by fire when it secured a crucial USD 1.25 billion private credit facility in late 2023. I wrote that Vedanta was like “a cat with nine lives”, utilizing its assets and market timing to pull itself out of a credit crunch.
Since then, Vedanta has been able to tap both the offshore and onshore debt markets. The group’s main operating company, Vedanta Ltd, plans to issue domestic bonds to raise around INR 30 billion (USD 326 million) to refinance upcoming obligations and shore up liquidity, The Economic Times reported on 7 March 2026.
Indian tycoons have shown battle-hardened resourcefulness that makes them formidable opponents for those who want to take them on.