Bill Ackman says Hindenburg's Adani report 'highly credible'
Billionaire US investor Bill Ackman said on Thursday that he found short-seller Hindenburg Research's report on India's Adani Group "highly credible and extremely well researched."
Shares in seven listed group companies of Adani lost $10.73 billion in market capitalization in India on Wednesday after the US short-seller released the report, which accused the conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens.
Hindenburg's report also said it held short positions in Adani Group through its US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.
Adani Group has said that it is evaluating "remedial and punitive action" against Hindenburg, calling the report "maliciously mischievous, (and) unresearched."
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Shortly after, Hindenburg said it will demand documents in legal discovery process if Adani Group files a lawsuit in the United States.
"Adani's response to Hindenburg is the same as Herbalife's response to our original 350-page presentation. Herbalife remains a pyramid scheme. I found the Hindenburg report highly credible and extremely well researched," Pershing Square boss Ackman said in a tweet on Thursday.
"We are not invested long or short in any of the Adani companies or Herbalife, nor have we done our own independent research," he added.
Ackman bet $1 billion against Herbalife starting in 2012, saying it violated Chinese direct-selling laws and was a pyramid scheme.
He exited his short in Herbalife at a loss in 2018 when his bets went awry, with the shares of the weight management and nutrition company rising more than 150%.
Adani Group did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
