Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) is an Indian
multinational publicly-listed
holding company and a part of
Adani Group. It is headquartered in
Ahmedabad and primarily involved in mining and trading of
coal and
iron ore. Through its various subsidiaries, it also has business interests in
airport operations,
edible oils, road, rail and water infrastructure,
data centers, and solar manufacturing, among others.
History
The company was incorporated in 1993 under the name Adani Exports Limited.[6] It mainly deals with the group's integrated resources management, power trading, and natural resources businesses on a standalone basis.[7] Its general purpose is to act as an in-house
incubator for
Adani Group's new businesses until they become self-sustainable.[8][9]
Notable subsidiaries and jointly-controlled companies of Adani Enterprises include:
Adani Agri Fresh
Adani Agri Fresh is involved in procurement, packaging, logistics and marketing of apples produced by farmers in
Himachal Pradesh, as well as and other Indian fruits, under Farm-Pik brand.[29] It also imports fruits from other countries and sells them in the Indian market.[30]
Adani Cement or Adani Cement Industries Limited (ACIL) is a cement company based in
Gujarat,
India. It was incorporated by Adani Group on June 11, 2021.[25] Adani Cement is wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises and has not begun its business operations.[32][33] It was reported in June 2021 that the Adani Group planned to set up a cement plant in
Maharashtra which will have an initial capacity of 5-Million tonnes per annum with an approximate investment of ₹900-1,000 crore.[34] The Group has proposed a 10-million tonnes per annum
Lakhpat cement plant, but later put the plans for that plant on hold.[34]
AdaniConneX
AdaniConneX was launched in 2021 as a 50:50 joint venture with EdgeConneX to develop a network of hyperscale
data centers in India, starting with
Chennai,
Navi Mumbai,
Noida,
Visakhapatnam and
Hyderabad.[35][36][37] In 2022, AdaniConneX announced that it was building a hyperscale data center in
Kolkata's Bengal Silicon Valley tech hub.[15]
Adani Defence & Aerospace
It is a defense manufacturing arm of the company. It manufactures with armed drones such as
Drishti 10 Starliner UAV[38] and small arms such as
IWI Negev,
Tavor TAR-21, and
IWI ACE.[39] As a part of a joint venture between
Elbit Systems from Israel and Adani Defence and Aerospace, a manufacturing facility for
unmanned aerial vehicle have been set up at
Hyderabad,
Telangana, inaugurated in 2019.[40][41] In April 2020, Adani Defence Systems and Technologies acquired Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd., an organization involved in the design, development, and manufacture of defense electronics and avionics.[42]
In September 2020, Adani acquired a 51 percent stake in PLR Systems Private Ltd which was incorporated in 2013 and engages in manufacturing and supply of indigenously built defense equipment to the armed forces.[43] In May 2022, Adani Defence Systems and Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Bengaluru-based General Aeronautics.[44] The company is involved with DRDO in
Long-range Guided Bomb,
VSHORAD, UAV launched Precision Guided Munition (ULPGM) and
Rudram-1.[45]
Adani Digital Labs
Adani Digital Labs was incorporated in September 2021 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, to build a digital platform for the consumers of Adani Group's
B2C businesses.[28][46] In December 2022, the company made the
alpha release of the
mobile app, named "Adani One", with the integration of the group's airport vertical.[47]
Adani Mining
Adani Enterprises operates its mines in India, Indonesia and Australia, and supplies coal to Bangladesh, China, and some countries in Southeast Asia. It has a coal mine in
Bunyu,
North Kalimantan, Indonesia, which produced 3.9 Mt of coal in 2016–17. The Group has made the largest investment by an Indian company in Australia at the controversial
Carmichael coal mine in the
Galilee Basin,
Queensland. Development of this mine is as of 2020[update] the subject of a court challenge to the
Australian Government over its lack of adherence to environmental legislation.[48]
Adani Road Transport undertakes construction, operations and maintenance of roads, highways, expressways and tollways.[13] The company has
NHAI projects in the states of Andhra Pradesh,[54] Chhattisgarh,[55] Gujarat,[13] Kerala,[56] Madhya Pradesh,[57] Maharashtra,[58] Odisha,[59] Telangana,[60] and West Bengal.[61]
In December 2021, it won the contract to build a 464 km stretch of the 594 km-long
Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh.[62]
Adani Shipping
Incorporated in 2006, Adani Shipping is a
Singapore-based step-down subsidiary which operates a fleet of
bulk carriers. In 2011, it began transporting coal from the group's mines in Indonesia and Australia.[19][63]
Adani Solar
Adani Solar is the
solar PV manufacturing and EPC subsidiary of Adani Enterprises. As of November 2020, it is the largest integrated solar cell and module manufacturer in India.[64]
Adani Water
It was founded as a subsidiary in December 2018, with a focus on water infrastructure construction. It is currently involved in wastewater treatment, recycle and reuse projects at
Prayagraj under the
National Mission for Clean Ganga Framework.[65]
The company went public in January 2022 with an
initial public offering, after which Adani Enterprises and Wilmar International continued to hold a combined 88% stake in Adani Wilmar.[70]
AMG Media Networks
AMG Media Networks was incorporated in April 2022 as a wholly-owned media and publishing subsidiary of Adani Enterprises.[23] In May 2022, AMG Media Networks announced the acquisition of a 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd, which operates
BQ Prime, for an undisclosed amount. Adani Enterprises had previously acquired an unspecified minority stake in the company in March 2022.[71] In August 2022, AMG Media Networks announced the acquisition of a 29.18% stake in
NDTV through its subsidiary.[72] In December 2022, it acquired an additional 8.27% stake via a
tender offer[73] and 27.26% stake from the promoters
Radhika Roy and
Prannoy Roy, to raise its total shareholding in NDTV to over 64%.[74]
Kutch Copper
Kutch Copper is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises which was incorporated in March 2021 to manufacture copper
cathodes, copper rods and other copper products.[26] In 2022, the company was reported to be setting up a
greenfield copper refinery complex at
Mundra with 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity, expected to commence production in 2024.[75]
In 2021, Adani Enterprises acquired a 20% stake in the online travel company
Cleartrip.[79] Adani Enterprises acquired a 49% stake in Maharashtra Border Check Post Network, a subsidiary of the publicly-listed
Sadbhav Infrastructure Projects.[80]
Controversies
Opposition to Carmichael mine
The
Carmichael coal mine project has faced
environmental protests across Australia since the mine was proposed in 2010.[81] The pressure from environmental groups forced international banks and financial institutions to not lend to the project, and resulted in a long delay in securing environmental clearances.[82] In 2018, Adani Group scaled down the mine's capacity and self-financed the project.[83] An
indigenous group of the region went to court seeking invalidation of the
indigenous land use agreement which was approved by its representatives, but the appeal was dismissed by the
Federal Court in 2019.[84] The mine made its first coal shipment in December 2021.[85]
Allegations of stock manipulation
On 24 January 2023,
Hindenburg Research published the findings of a two-year investigation claiming that Adani had engaged in
market manipulation and accounting malpractices.[86] Hindenburg also disclosed that it was holding
short positions on Adani Group companies.[86][87][88][89] Bonds and shares of companies associated with Adani experienced a decline in value after the accusations.[90][91] Adani denied the fraud allegations as unfounded and ill-intentioned. On 26 January 2023, Adani Group expressed its intention of taking legal action against Hindenburg.[92]