 "Hindenburg Research to shut down: Why founder Nate Anderson has called time on firm that went after Adani Group")
“As I’ve shared with family, friends, and our team since late last year, I’ve decided to disband Hindenburg Research. Our plan was always to wind up once we completed the pipeline of work we were focused on. With the recent completion of the Ponzi cases we’ve been working on, that day has arrived.”
On Wednesday (January 15), Nathan (Nate), Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg Research, made the shocking announcement of disbanding the well-known US-based investment research firm, which has earned notoriety for its reports on companies such as Adani Group and the US-based Nikola.
The announcement to call time on the firm has shocked many, prompting some to ask — what went wrong?
Anderson calls time on Hindenburg Research
On Wednesday, Anderson announced the decision to disband the research company, saying: “We shook some empires that we felt needed shaking.”
In a personal note on the company’s website, he further explained that building Hindenburg has “been a life’s dream”. Writing about the origins of Hindenburg Research, he said that at the start there were many doubts. “I doubted I was capable. I didn’t have a traditional finance background. None of my relatives are in this field. I went to a state school. I’m not a slick salesperson. I don’t know any of the right clothes to wear. I can’t play golf. I’m not some superhuman that can function on four hours of sleep.”
However, the company started to flourish and have a serious impact. He noted that it’s because of Hindenburg’s work that nearly 100 individuals — billionaires and oligarchs — have been charged civilly or criminally by regulators.
But then why has he called time on the company? He explained that the intense nature of work and “missing a lot of the rest of the world” helped him to come to this decision. “There is not one specific thing — no particular threat, no health issue, and no big personal issue.
“Someone once told me that at a certain point, a successful career becomes a selfish act. Early on, I felt I needed to prove some things to myself. I have now finally found some comfort with myself, probably for the first time in my life. I probably could have had it all along had I let myself, but I needed to put myself through a bit of hell first. The intensity and focus have come at the cost of missing a lot of the rest of the world and the people I care about. I now view Hindenburg as a chapter in my life, not a central thing that defines me,” he explained further about his decision.
However, there are some other theories circulating online about the closure of Hindenburg Research. BJP’s national convener of the IT cell Amit Malviya linked the company’s closure to Donald Trump’s inauguration. In a post on X, he wrote, “Hindenburg Research’s decision to disband comes as little surprise, coinciding with the Trump administration’s transition into office. As the US Department of Justice plans to investigate the firm’s operations, it’s worth reflecting on how Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party relied on Hindenburg’s reports. They frequently held press conferences and disrupted parliamentary proceedings, basing their actions on findings from this dubious George Soros-funded organisation. Hindenburg and its sponsors targeted the Indian stock market, which sees massive participation from retail investors, with the Congress party acting in alignment with their sinister agenda.”
Rise and rise of Hindenburg Research
But what exactly is the Hindenburg Research and where did it come from?
Founded in 2017 by Nate Andersen, Hindenburg Research began with the aim of being a forensic financial research firm, that analyses equity, credit and derivatives. Named after the high-profile disaster of the Hindenburg airship in 1937, which ignited as it flew into New Jersey, the company on its website says that it looks for “man-made disasters,” such as accounting irregularities, mismanagement and undisclosed related-party transactions.
Anderson, who is the brains behind Hindenburg, started his career in finance at data company FactSet Research Systems Inc, where he worked with investment management companies. “I realised they were doing a lot of run-of-the-mill analysis, there was a lot of conformity,” he told the Wall Street Journal in 2020.
He also was an ambulance driver in Israel for a short time. On his LinkedIn page, he has said that his time at the wheel of an ambulance gave him “experience thinking and acting under extreme pressure.”
What made Hindenburg famous across the world was its investigative reporting on companies. In 2017, it took on Eros International, an Indian film company listed in the US. In its report, it revealed significant accounting irregularities, including falsified revenue and undisclosed related-party transactions. Eros, in retaliation, slapped a lawsuit against Hindenburg but lost. In 2019, the Anderson-led firm followed up with another report that led to it being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. In 2023, India’s Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi) corroborated Hindenburg’s findings, fining and barring Eros’ promoter, Sunil Lulla, for his role in the fraudulent activities.
Next came the explosive report on Nikola, an electric vehicle start-up, in September 2020. The report revealed several lies. This led to the resignation of Nikola’s founder, Trevor Milton, who was later criminally indicted for securities fraud. In 2022, Milton was convicted on three counts of fraud and sentenced to four years in prison.
In India, Hindenburg Research became a household name in 2023 when it released an explosive report, accusing Adani Group of fraud and manipulating stock prices. It said in its report that the Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani added more than $100 billion in the past three years, largely through “stock price appreciation in the group’s seven key listed companies, which have spiked an average of 819 per cent in that period”. The report triggered a massive selloff in Adani Group shares, wiping out over $100 billion of Gautam Adani’s personal wealth. According to an India Today report, the market capitalisation of 10 Adani Group companies fell from Rs 19.19 lakh crore on January 24, 2023 to below Rs 7 lakh crore by February 27.
In 2024, Hindenburg Research accused Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch of having a conflict of interest, claiming they held stakes in offshore entities linked to the alleged Adani money siphoning.
Future for Hindenburg and its employees
But what does Anderson’s decision mean for the company and for its employees?
In his farewell note, Anderson has explained that over the next six months, he plans to work on a series of materials and videos to open-source every aspect of Hindenburg’s model and how they conduct investigations.
As for the employees, Anderson said that he was focused on making sure everyone lands “where they want to be next”. He explained in his report, “Some are going to start their own research firm, which I will strongly and publicly encourage, even as I will have no personal involvement. There are others on our team who are now free agents — so feel free to reach out to me if you have a need for anyone who is brilliant, focused, and easy to work with, as they all are.”
With inputs from agencies
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
