‘Misquoted’: Adani Enterprises clarification on Gautam Adani interview

Adani Enterprises has issued a clarification about group chairman Gautam Adani’s succession plan.

A statement issued by the flagship company of the Adani Group to the stock exchanges said that Gautam Adani “has been misquoted concerning heirs and equal beneficial interest in the family trust”.

“We would like to clarify that, in a recent interview, Mr Gautam Adani shared his thoughts on succession planning to ensure business sustainability. He said that succession is not just one event but a journey and that it must be organic, gradual and systematic. Mr. Adani did not specify any date or point in time,” the statement said.

“Further, Mr Adani has been misquoted about heirs and equal beneficial interest in the family trust. He had mentioned the involvement of his two sons and two nephews in various businesses of the group,” the company statement added.

“We would further like to submit that the share prices are purely market driven and the management of the Company neither has any control nor has any knowledge of any specific reason for the movement in price of shares seen yesterday. It is worth noting that share market itself saw a correction of approximately 3 per cent yesterday,” the statement further said.

The clarification was issued in the context of an interview the 62-year-old self-made, first-generation billionaire gave to Bloomberg, where he discussed at length the future of his conglomerate.

“Succession is very, very important for the business sustainability,” Bloomberg quoted Adani as saying.

According to the Bloomberg report, Adani planned to retire at 70 and transfer control of his business empire to his sons, Karan and Jeet, and nephews, Pranav and Sagar, by the early 2030s. 

“That answer set in motion a series of moves, many of which have escaped public attention, such as the creation of a four-way leadership structure that splits management of the businesses but requires the heirs to work together. Their areas of responsibility do not neatly align with specific units or listed entities. Even common services across the group — such as human resources, finance and IT support — have been carved up among the four,” the Bloomberg report had said.

Bloomberg had further stated how happy Adani was to transfer power to his heirs: “I am happy that all of them are hungry for growth, which is not common in the second generation. They have to work together to build a legacy,” he said, according to the interview.