Ambuja Cement and ACC claim that no shares have been pledged by promoter Adani Group.

NEW DELHI: The promoters of Adani group firms Ambuja Cement Ltd and ACC Ltd stated on Thursday that no shares of the companies have been pledged and that only a “non-disposal undertaking” has been provided.

Ambuja Cement Ltd and ACC Ltd described as “misleading” reports of promoters pledging shares as part of financing their acquisition in a joint statement to stock exchanges.

“As a result, there are market rumours that there is a requirement to meet the top-up triggers where there is selling pressure,” the statement said.

“We would like to clarify that Promoters have not pledged any Ambuja or ACC shares. The Promoters have only provided a non-disposal undertaking, so there is no requirement to provide any additional Ambuja and ACC shares or cash under the acquisition financing raised last year “It went on to say.

This comes just one day after Adani Group cancelled Adani Enterprises’ Rs 20,000-crore Follow-on Public Offer (FPO).

Earlier on Thursday, billionaire Gautam Adani stated that the decision to withdraw the fully subscribed FPO of his group’s flagship firm was primarily due to market volatility.

Adani stated that the company’s fundamentals are strong.

Since a US-based short seller made damning allegations of stock manipulation and financial reporting fraud, which the conglomerate has denied, Adani Group stocks have lost more than USD 100 billion in value.

On the last day of the share close on Tuesday, Adani Enterprises Ltd’s Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer attracted investors. The company decided to withdraw the FPO and refund the investors late on Wednesday.

Adani bought Ambuja and ACC cement companies through a Mauritius-based SPV called Endeavour Trade and Investment Ltd (ETIL), which is owned by Xcent Trade and Investment Ltd. (XTIL).

Adani Group has pledged its 63.15 % stake in Ambuja Cements and 56.7 % stake in ACC (of which Ambuja owns 50%) to Deutsche Bank AG’s Hong Kong Branch.