Adani enterprises to exit jv with wilmar in first big move since us indictment

Adani enterprises to exit jv with wilmar in first big move since us indictment

Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) on Monday announced its decision to exit its joint venture with Wilmar International Limited through a comprehensive divestment of its stake in Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL), the company said in a statement.

The agreement, signed on December 30, is expected to raise over $2 billion for AEL, the statement added. This marks the Gautam Adani-led company’s first significant transaction since the US Department of Justice indicted the Adani Group in November.

AEL, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Adani Commodities LLP (ACL), entered into a definitive agreement with Lence Pte. Ltd, a subsidiary of Wilmar International Ltd on Monday. Under the terms of the new agreement, Lence will acquire all paid-up equity shares of AWL held by ACL through the exercise of a call or put option, accounting for up to 31.06% of AWL’s existing paid-up equity share capital, as per the company statement. To comply with minimum public shareholding norms, AEL will also divest an additional 13% of its equity stake in AWL. Upon the completion of these two steps, AEL will fully exit its 44% holding in AWL.

‘This transaction highlights Adani’s strategic focus on streamlining its portfolio and unlocking liquidity to invest in its core businesses. The proceeds from the deal will be directed toward accelerating growth in key infrastructure sectors, including Energy & Utility, Transport & Logistics, and other industry-adjacent ventures,’ the company statement read.

With this, the Adani Group aims to strengthen AEL’s incubation capacity, enabling sharper focus on its consumer services divisions, such as Adani Airports and Adani Digital. These segments collectively serve an estimated 350 million consumers.

At a portfolio level, the group has deployed approximately 63% equity across its total assets. This ratio is expected to improve further from this transaction, the company said.

In the past four months, AEL and other Adani Group entities have raised significant capital. AEL secured $500 million in October 2024 and will have raised a total of $2.5 billion with the AWL transaction.

Additionally, other companies of the group, including Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL), Ambuja Cements Limited, and Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), collectively raised approximately $2 billion in the same period, bringing the total to $4.5 billion.