The Sebi show-cause notice to Hindenburg has put the spotlight on one entity — Mark Kingdon.
According to the regulator, New York-based Kingdon either controlled, managed or owned firms such as Kingdon Capital Management, Kingdon Offshore Master Fund and also K India Opportunities Fund-Class F. Sebi claimed that Hindenburg shared a draft of its report in advance with Kingdon Capital.
While Kingdon had 99 per cent of the shareholding of Kingdon Capital, he was also UBO (ultimate beneficial ownership) of Kingdon Offshore Master Fund L.P which on December 28, 2022 started subscribing to 100 per cent PR (participating redeemable shareholders) shares of KIOF-Class F. The FPI then took short position on Adani Enterprises before the report was published.
The market regulator added that behind the Master Fund, Kingdon and his family members were UBOs having nearly 59 per cent effective holding in KIOF-Class F and thus are the UBOs of the FPI.
Further, Kingdon had the sole discretion of making investment decisions in all these entities including the Master Fund and exercising powers with regard to its investments, including in AEL.
Sebi also disclosed that Kingdon Capital took confirmation from its legal counsel that it could enter into research services agreement with a third-party firm that publicly releases short (selling) reports, pursuant to which it could be given a draft copy of the report.
