Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani is searching for new group M&A chief

Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani is scouting for a new leader for his mergers and acquisitions strategy as the incumbent will soon take a new role within the group, according to people familiar with the matter.

Vinod Bahety, who’s been helming Adani Enterprises Ltd.’s M&A activity, will move to a new business vertical and a formal announcement could come as soon as this month, the people said. Adani Group has reached out to potential candidates for the job as the ports-to-power conglomerate is looking to expedite its dealmaking, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.

Adani is emerging as one of Asia’s busiest dealmakers. The Indian billionaire has been aggressively diversifying his empire beyond coal, where he built his fortune, and into sectors including data centers, airports, digital services, media and health care. The tycoon earlier this year agreed to buy Holcim AG’s cement business in India in a a $10.5 billion deal. He’s also pledged to invest $70 billion in green energy and recently lodged a hostile takeover of New Delhi Television Ltd.

A representative for Adani Group didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Adani, 60, overtook France’s Bernard Arnault last month as the world’s third-richest person, trailing only Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It marked the first time an Asian person has broken into the top three of the index -- fellow Indian citizen Mukesh Ambani and China’s Jack Ma never made it that far.