Gautam Adani bets big: Adani group to acquire NDTV

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani‘s conglomerate on Tuesday (August 23) said it wants to control a majority stake in NDTV, a move the TV news group said was executed without his consent. AMG Media Networks, a unit of Adani Group, will indirectly buy a 29.18% stake in NDTVand launch an open offer to buy another 26% stake, the Indian conglomerate said. The open offer price is expected to be $61.77 million.

Adani Enterprises said its media unit will indirectly buy a 29.18% stake in NDTV and launch an open offer for another 26% stake in the media house.#AdaniGroup #NDTV #AdaniEnterprises https://t.co/EVygr7EkQS

— Business Standard (@bsindia) August 23, 2022

NDTV

Media company

Founders: Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy
Founded: 1988
Headquarters: New Delhi
Number of employees: 464 (2021)
Key people: Prannoy Roy (Co-chairperson), Radhika Roy (Co-chairperson), Suparna Singh (President), Ravish Kumar (Editor-in-chief)

The acquisition of 29.18 percent stake will be indirect and will be done through Vishwapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL), owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), said a news release by the Adani Group.

VCPL has exercised warrant to acquire 99.5 percent stake in RRPR (promoter group of NDTV). As a result of such acquisition, VCPL will acquire control of RRPR, the release said. RRPR, which is the promoter group company of NDTV, holds 29.18 percent stake in the media company.

VCPL, along with AMNL and AEL, will initiate an open offer to acquire up to 26 percent stake in NDTV, in terms of SEBI’s takeover rules. Hours after the announcement, NDTV issued a statement saying that the move by the Adani Group was “executed without any input, negotiation or consent from the founders of NDTV.”

NDTV was founded in 1988 by one of India’s most famous TV news personalities, Prannoy Roy, and his wife. Recently, NDTV said in a stock exchange disclosure that Prannoy Roy and Radhika were not in discussions with any entity for a change in ownership or divestment of their stake in NDTV. They personally and through his company hold 61.45% of NDTV, the statement said.

Three national news channels are run by NDTV: NDTV 24×7, NDTV India, and NDTV Profit. With more than 3.5 crore followers across various platforms, it continues to be one of the most followed news accounts on social media and has a significant online presence.

The company has generated revenue of INR 421 crore with an Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) of INR 123 crore while making a net profit of INR 85 crore in FY22 with negligible debt.