A Delisting Spree in India Has Investors Betting Who’ll Be Next

(Bloomberg) -- A spate of voluntary delisting proposals in India’s $1.8 trillion stock market is stoking bets on which companies will be the next to go private.

In the last two months, the majority owners of Vedanta Ltd., Adani Power Ltd. and Hexaware Technologies Ltd. have proposed buying out all publicly traded shares amid the coronavirus-induced selloff in stocks. With speculation rife that other firms will follow, television channel CNBC-TV18 last month reported that Diageo Plc. is exploring options to delist United Spirits Ltd., while some traders are betting that U.S.-based Oracle Corp. can privatize its Indian unit.

Enthusiasm to invest in shares of public companies that can go private matches a trend seen in Singapore in recent years. The premium for privatizations and takeovers in the city-state averaged about 15% between 2017 to July 2019, according to data from DBS Bank Ltd. The strategy was earlier seen in India after the global financial crisis, and, in 2009, at least one local fund manager opened a fund to buy shares in companies seen to have a high likelihood of delisting.

“I have some stocks that are bets on delisting due to their cash-rich foreign parents,” said Chokkalingam G, head of investment advisory at Equinomics Research & Advisory Pvt. in Mumbai. “A fall in stock valuations and the rupee is underpinning investments in the likely delisting candidates.”

While the S&P BSE Sensex has risen 34% from a low in March, the gauge is still down 15% this year. Meanwhile, the rupee is Asia’s worst-performing currency after falling almost 6% versus the dollar in the period, boosting the appeal of India assets for foreigners.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources last month was the first company to propose delisting of its India listed Vedanta. Its shares had collapsed about 40% between Jan. 1 through May 12 -- the day before the announcement. The stock has since pared the year-to-date loss to 28%. Adani Power has lost 39% of its market value so far in 2020.

Spokeswomen for Oracle and Diageo did not immediately reply to the emails seeking comments.

“Delisting is emerging as a nice theme for traders. They buy the rumor and sell on the news or the lack of it,” said Sameer Kalra, an investment strategist at Target Investing in Mumbai. “Successful completion of at least one delisting and a couple of more offers will put it more firmly on investors’ radars.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.