Wealthy tycoon Gautam Adani’s group said on Tuesday that it is going to invest in media as part of an ambitious expansion plan, buying a majority stake in New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV), one of the country’s most popular news channels.

Meanwhile, NDTV issued a statement and said, “Without any discussion with New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) or its founder-promoters, Visvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) has imposed a notice on them, it (VCPL) RRPR Holding Private Limited ( RRPRH) is asserting its right to acquire 99.50% control of the promoter-owned company which owns 29.18% of NDTV.”

As of Monday, NDTV said its promoters were not discussing selling their stake in the company.

Full statement:

Without any discussion with New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) or its founder-promoters, Vishwapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) issued a notice to them, stating that it (VCPL) retained its right to acquire 99.50% control of RRPR. will keep Holding Private Limited (RRPRH), a promoter-owned company that owns 29.18% of NDTV.

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VCPL’s notification is based on a loan contracted with NDTV founders Radhika and Prannoy Roy in 2009-10. The notice informed that VCPL exercised another conversion of 19,90,000 warrants into equity shares of RRPRH at ₹ 10/- per share, and completed the transfer of a total of 1.99 crores to RRPRH.

NDTV founders and the company make it clear that this exercise of rights by VCPL was done without any input, prior discussion with the NDTV founders who, like NDTV, are aware of this exercise of rights. Just today. As of yesterday, NDTV filed a statement with the stock exchanges that there has been no change in the shareholding of its founders.
RRPRH, which owns 29.18% of NDTV, has been directed to transfer all its equity shares to VCPL within two days.

The company has also filed a copy of VCPL’s public announcement dated August 23, 2022 regarding an independent offer to acquire up to 26% of the voting share capital of NDTV at ₹ 294 per share (up to 16,762,530 fully paid equity shares). As required by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Significant Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011.

The Adani Group firm started by acquiring a company that had previously tied up with rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The private company gave a loan of Rs 250 crore to NDTV in 2008-09 and the Adani group firm has now used that loan as a counterpart to convert a 29.18 per cent stake in the news channel company.

Subsequently, it launched an independent offer for another 26 percent stake, the group clarified in a statement.