Adani Enterprises, the main business of the Adani Group, announced on Friday its intention to purchase the entire ownership of Stark Enterprises (SEPL), the operator of Trainman, an online train booking platform.
The company did not reveal the financial details of the deal.
According to a notification to the stock exchange by Adani Enterprises, its wholly owned subsidiary, Adani Digital Labs, has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire the full stake of Stark Enterprises.
SEPL, based in Gurugram, is a start-up authorised by IRCTC for online train ticket booking. It was founded by Vineet Chirania and Karan Kumar, graduates of IIT Roorkee. The company recently secured a funding round of USD 1 million from a consortium of US investors, which included Goodwater Capital and Hem Angels.
This acquisition holds significance for the Adani Group, as it marks their return to the mergers and acquisitions realm following a critical report published by US-based short seller Hindenburg in January. Hindenburg accused the Adani Group of fraud and governance issues, allegations that the conglomerate, known for its presence in cooking oil to ports, has denied.
In response to the Hindenburg report, the Adani Group scaled back its ambitions and reportedly abandoned plans for expansion in the petrochemicals sector and a coal-to-polyvinyl chloride project in Mundra.
Earlier this year, the Adani Group’s Rs 7,000-crore deal to acquire thermal power assets from DB Power fell through after several extensions to the transaction deadline. Likewise, the proposed acquisition of Air Works, an aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) company, was delayed in April due to the forced liquidation of a major shareholder in the target company.
