Adani Transmission Says Reliance Infrastructure’s Claims Based On ‘Untenable Positions’

In response to the arbitration claims filed by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd on Monday, Adani Transmission said that the claims made by Anil Ambani-led company are based on ‘untenable positions,’ and that the company will respond with facts in the arbitral proceedings. Reliance Infrastructure has filed an arbitration claim of Rs 13,400 crore before the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MICA) against Adani Transmission for ‘breach of terms’ pertaining to the acquisition of its Mumbai power distribution business by the latter in 2017. 

“Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (R-Infra), part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, initiated arbitration on one specific dispute under the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) in December 2021. This was a claim for Rs 500 Cr. Following due process, ATL/Adani Electricity rejected the R-Infra claim. In addition, ATL/Adani Electricity submitted that R-Infra has not yet settled AEML’s significantly larger claims under the SPA,” Adani Transmission said. 

“This year, in February and August, R-Infra filed supplementary arbitration requests, raising additional disputes and claims. In our view, these are afterthoughts and based on untenable positions. ATL/Adani Electricity is following the due process laid out under the SPA for dispute resolution and will respond with facts and present its own claims against R-Infra in the arbitration proceedings,” it added.  

In 2017, Adani Group acquired the Mumbai-based power business of Reliance Infrastructure (then Reliance Energy) in a deal worth Rs 18,800 crore via a share purchase agreement. The deal was intended to help Reliance Infrastructure pay off its debt worth Rs 15,000 crore, leaving it with a surplus fund worth Rs 3,000 crore. "The financial implication cannot be ascertained and is contingent upon the final outcome of the arbitration and subsequent legal challenges," Reliance Infrastructure said in a statement earlier.