India's Adani tries to allay concerns as lenders step up scrutiny, say sources

India's Adani Group has reached out to banks to try to allay their concerns as some consider tighter credit rules for the embattled conglomerate after a botched $2.5 billion share sale and a massive sell-off in its stocks, several bankers said.

Shares of Adani Group companies have lost more than half their market value, or in excess of $100 billion combined, after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research raised questions last week about their debt levels and use of tax havens.

The ports-to-energy conglomerate, led by Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest men, rejects the criticism and denies wrongdoing.

But the market turmoil led its flagship Adani Enterprises to abandon a $2.5 billion secondary share offering on Wednesday, prompting concerns at lenders.

Top Adani executives held a call this week with State Bank of India (SBI), which has the highest exposure to the group, to say it wasn't facing any issues with repayments and cash flow, a senior banker with knowledge of the meeting said.

India's No. 1 lender, SBI has not disclosed its exposure to the group, but according to a local media report the bank has about 260 billion rupees ($3.2 billion) in loans.

Bank debt forms 38% of the total debt of 2.1 trillion rupees ($26 billion) at the top five Adani companies, according to a Jefferies report.

Referring to Hindenburg's allegations, another senior SBI banker said the concerns raised had become a "big issue", and would have to be evaluated carefully.

SBI will ask questions about the allegations if and when Adani group companies approach the lender for fresh credit, and then take a decision, said the second banker.

Both bankers declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Adani and SBI did not respond to emails requesting comment.

A day after the share offering was pulled, Gautam Adani said the group's cash flow was "very strong" and it would review capital raising once the market stabilised. He said the group had an "impeccable" track record of fulfilling debt obligations.