New Delhi: The Adani Group seems to be unstoppable. Gautam Adani’s insatiable appetite for expansion has seen him spend like there’s no tomorrow for expensive acquisitions in cement, power plants, aerospace and now, the real estate assets of the beleaguered Sahara Group.
After taking over the reins of the Dharavi redevelopment plan, the Adani Group is now all set to take over more than 88 properties owned by the Sahara Group, including the 8,800-acre Aamby Valley City in Maharashtra, Hotel Sahara Star in Mumbai, the 170-acre Sahara Shahar in Lucknow, among others, scattered across various states.
According to various media reports, Sahara submitted a proposal to the Supreme Court to sell all its assets together, and is waiting for the Courts approval. The financial terms of this transaction is currently unknown. Once approved, the Adani Group will have to deposit the full payment to the SEBI-Sahara refund account. If approved, it would mark one of the largest bundled real estate deals to a single buyer.
However, this deal is fraught with its own challenges, considering the multiple ongoing litigations, fragmented ownership and poor buyer confidence for these projects.
The Sahara Group saga
Sahara India has been dealing with numerous court cases, where it had raised funds from small investors in the early 2000s with promises of high returns and hasn’t paid back that money. As per a report by India Today, the Sahara Group has to repay approximately Rs.24,030 crores, and this transaction is crucial for them to fulfil these obligations.
It remains to be seen how Gautam Adani raises these funds, given that the company is already stretched thin with Rs.2.37 lakh crore in debt, accrued due to its highly ambitious expansion plans. Along with this, the Adani Group is also looking to acquire the cement and infrastructure assets of the bankrupt Jayprakash Associates Group.
In just about two decades, Gautam Adani has seen a meteoric rise, banking on the success of his infrastructure companies to venture into power generation, clean energy, aviation, defence and airports, all on borrowed money. The Hindenburg episode did give a temporary blip to his rise, but his continued endorsement of Narendra Modi’s policies have helped him get over it.
Sahara Group’s Chief Subrato Roy had also paid the price for being too ambitious, too soon. He expanded the group to include insurance, civil aviation, real estate, media and communication, manufacturing and hospitality. Arrested for duping millions of small investors, Subrato Roy faced a multitude of court cases, which eventually led to his company becoming defunct. Will Gautam Adani meet the same fate? Only time will tell.
