India's Adani to use $2.5 billion share sale proceeds for capex, debt repayment

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Adani Enterprises will use the proceeds of the 200 billion rupees ($2.46 billion) follow-on public offering (FPO), beginning on Jan. 27, for capital expenditure requirements and pay off some debt of its units.

The company will use 108.69 billion rupees from India's biggest FPO to fund green hydrogen projects, airports facilities and greenfield expressways, the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani-helmed firm said in its latest prospectus.

It will also use 41.65 billion rupees to repay the borrowings of three of its units, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, Adani Road Transport Ltd, and Mundra Solar Ltd.

Adani Enterprises' prospectus did not specify a price band for the follow-on sale of shares that ends on Jan. 31.

The proposed fund raise comes as the ports-to-energy conglomerate aggressively expands into sectors such as cement and healthcare, amid some concerns about its elevated debt levels and large promoter shareholding.

The group has made acquisitions worth $13.8 billion in 2022, as per Dealogic data, its highest ever in a year and more than double the previous year.

Adani Enterprises stock jumped nearly 130% in 2022, and closed down 1.2% on Wednesday.

($1 = 81.3500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Auran Sadhu and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Eileen Soreng)