A venture capital (VC) fund managed by Elara Capital, Elara India Opportunities Fund (Elara IOF), is a promoter entity with the Adani Group in Bengaluru-based defence company Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd (ADTPL), as reported by the Indian Express (IE). ADTPL works closely with ISRO and DRDO. It also has a Rs 590 crore contract with the Union Ministry of Defence to upgrade Pechora missile and radar systems.
Adani and Elara jointly own a 51.65 per cent stake in ADTPL.
Elara holds shares predominantly in Adani Group companies. The report by IE showed that its holdings in three companies of the conglomerate add up to Rs 9,000 crore. This makes up 96 per cent of its total corpus as of December 2022.
It holds a 1.6 per cent stake in Adani Enterprises, 3.62 per cent in Adani Transmission and 1.62 per cent in Adani Total. Earlier, it has also held stakes in Adani Ports and Adani Green.
The report released by Hindenburg Research in January raised questions about the source of funding for Elara Capital.
ADTPL filings show it is owned by Vasaka Promoters and Developers Pvt Ltd. However, Elara IOF is the single largest shareholder of Vasaka, with a 44.3 per cent stake. In the ADTPL annual Report for 2020-21, the company said, "The Company is a subsidiary company of Vasaka Promoters & Developers Pvt Ltd by virtue of shareholding. The company is a subsidiary of Adani Defence Systems and Technologies Limited by virtue of control over the composition of the Board of Directors."
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