MUMBAI: S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook on three Adani Group entities to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ on Friday, citing risks to funding access following a US indictment of the conglomerate’s billionaire founder, Gautam Adani, on bribery charges. Adani and seven other people, including his nephew Sagar, were indicted on Thursday for fraud by US prosecutors for their alleged roles in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials to secure power-supply deals. Adani Group has said the accusations leveled by US federal prosecutors, as well as those by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case, are “baseless and denied” and that it will seek “all possible legal recourse.”

The US indictment could affect investor confidence in other Adani Group entities, as the founder sits on the boards of other companies within the group, potentially impairing their access to funding and increasing funding costs, S&P said in a note.

“The group will need regular access to both equity and debt markets given its large growth plans, in addition to its regular refinancing. We believe domestic, as well as some international banks and bond market investors, look at Adani entities as a group and could set group limits on their exposure,” S&P said. S&P revised the outlook on a unit of Adani Green Energy, the entity linked to the allegations, to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’. Adani Electricity and Adani Ports were also downgraded to ‘negative’, S&P said, adding that ratings on the three entities could go lower if allegations are proven true.

Adani’s conglomerate could find it harder to get funding following a US arrest warrant for its billionaire founder, with some banks considering halting fresh credit to the Indian group due to an alleged $265 million bribery scheme. Some global banks are considering temporarily halting fresh credit to the Adani Group after the US indictment but maintaining existing loans, sources told Reuters.

Senior executives at two of Adani’s global lenders said that they have had multiple calls within their respective banks to discuss exposure to the group and what the impact of the indictment would be on its financial position. Research firm CreditSights highlighted refinancing for the conglomerate’s green energy business, which is at the centre of the allegations, as its biggest near-term concern.

Bonds issued by the Adani Group dropped sharply for a second day on Friday and although the shares of some Adani firms clawed back some of Thursday’s losses, the overall market value of all 10 stocks has dropped by $27.9 billion over two sessions.

Adani Green Energy, which is at the centre of the US allegations, has lost nearly $7 billion of its value. US authorities have charged Adani and seven other people with agreeing to pay bribes to Indian government officials to obtain contracts that could yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years as well as to develop India’s largest solar power project. Adani Group has said the accusations as well as those leveled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case are “baseless and denied” and that it will seek “all possible legal recourse”.

Some analysts said the fallout was unlikely to be limited to the Adani group of companies. “India’s renewable energy sector, a critical pillar for global climate goals, may face reduced international investment as a result of this controversy,” said Nimish Maheshwari, an independent analyst who publishes on Smartkarma. “Investors may demand greater transparency and due diligence, slowing down the pace of project financing.”

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the country’s market regulator, is making preliminary checks to see if disclosures made by Adani entities were inadequate and if they breached local market regulations, a SEBI official told Reuters. SEBI did not respond to a request for comment.

The regulator has completed a separate investigation into the group, but not yet issued orders, after Hindenburg Research in January 2023 alleged improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation, which the group has denied. Falls in Adani dollar bond prices on Friday included a 2.5c drop on the dollar for 2029 Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone bonds. At 87.8c, they are down more than 5c over the two sessions. Longer-dated maturities have fallen around 5c in two days and trade just below 80c. Adani Transmission and Adani Electricity Mumbai bond prices had similar declines.

Investors are also watching to see if more Adani deals could be scuttled after Kenya cancelled a procurement process worth nearly $2 billion that had been widely expected to award control of the country’s main airport to the group. It also nixed a 30-year, $736-million public-private partnership deal that an Adani Group firm signed with the energy ministry last month to construct power transmission lines. Adani Green also cancelled a scheduled $600 million US bond sale. — Reuters