Adani Enterprises Ltd may raise up to Rs 20,000 crore in what could be India’s biggest follow-on public offering (FPO) on the markets.

The flagship firm of the Adani group informed the bourses on Wednesday its board will meet on November 25 to consider fundraising.

“The Board of Directors of the company is scheduled on 25/11/2022, inter alia, to consider and approve the proposal of raising of funds by way of further public offering, preferential allotment (including a qualified institutions placement or through any other permissible mode) and/or combination thereof as may be considered appropriate, by way of issue of equity shares or any other eligible securities,’’ the company said.

It is not clear if the proposed fund raising is meant to reduce debt, finance the group’s ambitious plan in various businesses or to increase public float.

The markets feared equity dilution by the company through the massive FPO, sending the shares lower. At the BSE, Adani Enterprises fell 3.27 per cent to Rs 3,903.65. Media reports said the company has hired ICICI Securities and Jefferies for the FPO.

There are seven firms from the Adani group that are listed on the bourses and they have delivered huge shareholder returns over the past few years.

However, at the same time the group has weathered concerns about elevated debt, concentrated holding and poor analyst coverage.

The promoters hold 72.63 per cent in Adani Enterprises and the rest is with the public.

Within public shareholding, mutual funds, alternate investment funds, banks and insurance companies hold 5.32 per cent, while foreign portfolio investors have a 15.59 per cent share. The rest are with resident individuals and foreign companies.

In September this year, the Financial Times had reported that the group is planning to boost free float in Adani Enterprises after a more than 3000 per cent surge in three years.

Last week, Adani Enterprises hit a record high of Rs 4,098.10, thereby showing a rise of 140 per cent in a span of a year.

The group’s debt levels also came into the spotlight in August. CreditSights, a Fitch group unit, cautioned that it was “deeply overleveraged’’ with a debt of Rs 2.3 lakh crore.

CreditSights said that the conglomerate has been investing aggressively across both existing and new businesses, predominantly funded with debt, resulting in elevated leverage and solvency ratios.

The findings were contested by Adani which resulted in the Fitch group firm watering down some of its observations, though it stuck to its view that the leverage across Adani firms remains elevated.