The 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) by Adani Enterprises is now open for subscription. The FPO is the largest in India Inc's history, with the company having already raised 5,985 crore from anchor investors.
While Gautam Adani's ambitious $50 billion green hydrogen ambitions will require significantly more funding, brokerages have maintained cautious optimism about the FPO.
Adani is not the only Indian billionaire betting on green energy in the future. Mukesh Ambani, his rival, also set the wheels in motion for Reliance Industries' 'green' future.
These two richest Indians' green energy bets total $125 billion, primarily based on green and blue hydrogen. This entails establishing an integrated green hydrogen ecosystem comprised of giga factories, solar modules, and wind turbines to power the giga factories' electrolysers.
Adani Enterprises intends to use the proceeds of the FPO to meet the capital expenditure requirements of its green energy projects, as well as to reduce its own and its subsidiaries' debt.
According to the company's red herring prospectus (RHP), 10,869 crore has been set aside for green hydrogen projects, in addition to improving existing airport facilities and constructing a greenfield motorway.
Adani Enterprises also plans to use $4,165 million to partially repay the debts of Adani Airport Holdings, Adani Road Transport, and Mundra Solar.
According to Nirmal Bang analysts, Adani's high-risk bet will be crucial in determining the group's future.
“Adani Enterprises’ leap into futuristic technologies like green hydrogen with heavy investments can propel the company into a new league or it could bleed the financials if the market dynamics shifts in favour of other alternate fuels,” said the Nirmal Bang report.
According to the RHP filed by the company, following the FPO, the promoter group's shareholding will be reduced from 72.63% to 68.94%.
35% or 7,000 crore of the 20,000 crore is set aside for retail investors, 3,000 crore for non-institutional investors, and the remaining 10,000 crore is set aside for qualified institutional buyers.
The company stated in its RHP that the limited operational history of some of its businesses may not be sufficient for investors to evaluate the group's future prospects. It also emphasised its "substantial indebtedness" as a key risk factor that could harm its future operations.
“Adani Enterprises’ business model involves high risk with uncertain business outcomes and thus we have a ‘Neutral’ rating on the issue,” the brokerage added.
On the other hand, analysts at Ventura Securities were bullish on the company's prospects, saying, "The turbulence in the energy market (post the Russia-Ukraine war) and climate change issues have necessitated a rapid switch to alternative clean fuel sources. Green hydrogen has the most potential, and Adani is moving quickly to capitalise on this opportunity." With a 24-month investment horizon, the brokerage assigned a 'buy' rating.
SBI Securities analysts did not make a recommendation, but they did note that at the upper end of the FPO price band of 3,276, the company is valued at a price-earnings multiple of 317 times.
Adani Enterprises intends to build a green hydrogen production capacity of 1 million tonnes per year in the first phase.