We stand by Adani report, says Hindenburg’s Nate Anderson

Activist-seller Nathan Anderson, known for his high-profile campaigns against the likes of Adani Group, said he is closing his firm, Hindenburg Research, not because of any threat

New Delhi: Activist short-seller Nathan Anderson, known for his high-profile campaigns against the likes of Adani Group, said he is closing his firm, Hindenburg Research, not because of any threat – legal or otherwise – and that he stands by all its reports.

Anderson told PTI that Hindenburg’s January 2023 report accusing Adani Group of “the largest con in corporate history” was a result of following “red flags” raised against the conglomerate in media reports.

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Adani group had repeatedly denied all allegations in the report.

He termed as “goofy conspiracy” the attempts by some to link Hindenburg with alleged anti-India groups like OCCRP and George Soros, saying his outlet never commented on them as it followed the policy of not feeding into “silly conspiracy theories”.

Anderson, who came to be known for meticulously detailed reports against companies he alleged were committing fraud, last month announced shutting down his forensic research firm nearly eight years after he founded it.

Asked why he chose to shut down Hindenburg when he could have stepped back and passed on the reins of the company to someone else, he said there is “no way to separate me from the brand.” “Hindenburg is basically synonymous with me,” he said.

“If it was a software application or a bicycle factory you can sell the application or the factory. But when it’s research driven by me, you can’t really just hand that off, and so I would not actually be ‘done’. But I am happy to support the team if they want to launch a new brand, which I expect they will.”

Anderson, who first shot to fame with a report against electric truck company Nikola and had gone after the companies of major financial figures, including Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises LP, had last month blamed the “intensity and focus” of the job for the decision to wind up.

He had spent much of the last eight years either in fights or preparing for the next fight. Many times during this period, he was often trailed and attempts were made to infiltrate his system. “As to why I retired – it is all in the letter (released on January 16 that announced shutting down of Hindenburg) – it is not based on any threat, health issue, personal issue or otherwise,” he said.

Conspiracies theories like being on the verge of an investigation by the US Department of Justice and/or US SEC to “concoct a counter-narrative about my retirement is a great example of why I am happy to instead be enjoying more time with family, friends and good music,” he said.

Asked if he stood by Hindenburg reports particularly against the Adani group, Anderson said, “We 100 per cent stand by all of our research findings.” Hindenburg had alleged that Adani Group had used a web of companies in tax havens to inflate its revenue and manipulate stock prices, even as debt piled up. The conglomerate vehemently denied all claims but the damning report at one point sheared over USD 150 billion off its value, losses it eventually recouped in over a year’s time.