Hindenburg Research, the US short seller whose targeted reports have caused severe market value losses, has been disbanded after 7 years of operation, Founder and CEO Nathan Anderson said in a statement.
- The research firm gained prominence in Wall Street for exposing alleged corporate fraud and misrepresentation through detailed reports, which simmered indictments against individuals and expensive legal battles while wiping billions from market values of companies.
- The Heindenburg shutdown saw Adani Group shares surge 9% on Thursday – 2 years after fueling a US$100 billion share selloff in the Indian conglomerate’s market value.
- In January 2023, the short seller published a targeted report against Adani Group accusing the conglomerate of stock manipulation and accounting fraud – “pulling the largest con in corporate history.”
“I have made the decision to disband Hindenburg Research,” Hindenburg CEO Nathan Anderson wrote in a statement, “Nearly 100 individuals have been charged civilly or criminally by regulators at least in part through our work, including billionaires and oligarchs. We shook some empires that we felt needed shaking.”
Founded in 2017, Hindenburg was a US investment firm focusing on short selling with whose reports targeted a number of companies including Nikola, Adani Group, Micro Computer, Clover Health, Block Inc, kandi and Lordstown Motors over the 7 years.
Short selling is a strategy where traders profit from a decline in the price of an asset, often a stock.
Among its earliest reports was one on Eros International, released in August 2017 with several follow ups over the next two years. Eros, an Indian film company, was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in early 2023.
The End of an Era
“The plan has been to wind up after we finished the pipeline of ideas we were working on. And as of the last Ponzi cases we just completed and are sharing with regulators, that day is today,” Anderson added.
In June 2020, Hindenburg released a report targeting electric truck start up Nikola Motors, accusing the company of fraudulent practices. The report led to Nikola’s founder Trevor Milton’s fraud conviction and a US$125 million slapped on the company. Meanwhile Nikola shares fell from highs of US$100 to US$9.3.
Among those who faced charges after Hindenburg Research’s scathing reports was billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn. Icahn was accused of defrauding investors in his company, a claim derived from a May 2023 by Hindenburg that accused him of running a Ponzi scheme. The case was dismissed in September 2024, months after Icah and his company paid US$2 million in a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The latest report by Hindenburg targeted the online used car retailer Carvana claiming the company was involved in insider trading and accounting manipulation, causing a 13% sell off in two days.
