Sebi Accuses Insider Trading in Adani Group's NDTV Open Offer

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has made allegations of insider trading against Pranav Adani, accusing him of sharing sensitive information related to the Adani Group's open offer for NDTV shares with his brothers-in-law. According to a document reviewed by ET, the regulator suspects this sharing of information violated insider trading regulations.

The accusation stems from events in August 2022, during the Adani Group's takeover of New Delhi Television (NDTV). Pranav Adani is a director at Adani Enterprises.

Sebi has issued show cause notices to Pranav Adani, along with his brothers-in-law, Kunal and Nrupal Shah, and his father-in-law, Dhanpal Shah. The notice, dated October 15, 2025, points to frequent communication between Pranav Adani and Kunal, Nrupal, and Dhanpal Shah during the period when the unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) was available.

Previously, Sebi had dropped a similar insider trading case against Pranav Adani and his relatives due to insufficient evidence. That case involved allegations that Pranav Adani had leaked information about Adani Green Energy's acquisition of SB Energy Holdings to his relatives before the deal's public announcement.

The open offer for NDTV involved Vishvapradhan Commercial, along with AMG Media Networks and Adani Enterprises, seeking to acquire up to 26% of NDTV's share capital from public shareholders. JM Financial, the manager of the open offer, announced the public offering after market hours on August 23, 2022. The offer involved purchasing 16.76 million shares at ₹294 each, totaling ₹492.81 crore.

Sebi stated that the August 23rd announcement constituted UPSI because it was made after trading hours and would materially impact NDTV's stock price once public. When trading resumed on August 24, 2022, NDTV's shares experienced a jump, opening approximately 2.5% higher than the previous day's close and ending the day with nearly a 5% increase on the National Stock Exchange.

Following the announcement, Sebi launched an investigation spanning from May 2, 2022, to September 15, 2022, to determine if any entities had traded NDTV shares based on insider information. Their investigation covered the period before, during, and after the release of the UPSI.

Sebi's investigation revealed that Kunal Shah allegedly purchased NDTV shares on multiple occasions during the UPSI period, including in the weeks and days leading up to the public announcement.