New Delhi, Feb 2 (EFE).- Indian business conglomerate Adani Group, owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, on Thursday announced the withdrawal of the massive follow-up offering (FPO) of their flagship company a day after the listing was closed with 100 percent subscriptions, following stock market losses worth more than $50 billion.

"The market has been unprecedented, and our stock price has fluctuated over the course of the day. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the Company's board felt that going ahead with the issue will not be morally correct," Adani said in a statement released in the early hours of Thursday.

In this context - citing investors' interest and to protect them from possible financial losses - "the Board has decided not to go ahead with the FPO." it added.

The decision will result in the return of funds to the investors who purchased shares in the FPO - worth over $2 billion - between Jan. 27-31.

"Despite the volatility in the stock over the last week, your faith and belief in the Company, its business and its management has been extremely reassuring and humbling. Thank you," the billionaire said.

The group has already began the process to refund the revenue received in its account and also to release the funds blocked in the investors' bank account for subscription to the listing, according to the statement.

Adani claimed that the group's balance sheet was "very healthy with strong cashflows and secure assets," and that the FPO withdrawal would not "have any impact on our existing operations and future plans."

The FPO - touted to be the largest in Indian markets - was quickly overshadowed last week by a report by New York-based short seller Hindenburg Research that alleged massive corporate fraud by the conglomerate spread over decades, just two-days before the scheduled listing.

With its stock-price plummeting from the opening day due to the report, the group had to go on the defensive to keep the three-day FPO afloat, although it closed on Tuesday with all the shares sold.

However, the group stocks continue to trade in red and the listing raised much less than the initial estimates.

Adani Enterprises, the flagship firm of the group whose shares were being offered in the FPO, registered a 26.4 percent loss on Wednesday according to India's National Stock Exchange.

A week of huge losses has cost over $50 billion to the firms owned by Adani, who was ranked the third-richest individual in the world until eight days ago.

As per the Forbes' real time billionaire list, the Indian businessman has dropped to the 15th place as of Thursday.

The Adani Group, which includes multinational companies spread across the industrial and energy sector, was founded by Gautam Adani in 1988 as a trading company that soon expanded into import and export of goods, and later developed its own ports. EFE

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