Another reason not to name your company ‘Hindenburg’

More than a month after short seller Hindenburg Research accused India-based Adani Group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud,” a Denmark-based audio engineering company that also happens to be named Hindenburg says it’s getting death threats.

After the short seller’s bombshell report was published Jan. 24, the Danish Hindenburg’s CEO Chris Mottes says he noticed a lot of web traffic from India and he started receiving random messages that made no sense. 

“I started getting emails that weren’t related at all to audio engineering system…. It wasn’t the reaction we typically get to our software,” Mottes adds. “But then we got messages saying that if I ever go to India people will kill me.”

“You motherf–er, bastard, idiot, no-mind people with dog’s s–t in your mouth,” read one message, typical of hundreds the firm received. “You will not be spared.. Our Adani will rise again.. You will be demolished..  Your employees will leave you permanently.. Your company will be finished soon.”

The Hindenburg report accused billionaire Gautam Adani and his massive conglomerate of using shell companies to over-inflate the share price of the company. In the days following the report, Adani Group lost $100 billion in market capitalization.

Mottes says neither he nor his employees were even aware of the existence of New York-based Hindenburg Research until a few years ago — after Hindenburg Research published their report that a promising electric vehicle company Nikola Motors was lying to investors.

On the positive side, Mottes said website traffic has doubled, his inbox has been flooded with job applications, and he’s gotten more followers on Facebook and Twitter. Some investors who happened to be short on the Adani Group even sent Mottes thank you notes.

“We made a fortune on Adani,” one grateful short seller wrote.