Adani Group to acquire 29.18 pc stake in NDTV, launch open offer

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India] Aug 23 : Adani Group's media arm announced on Tuesday that it will indirectly acquire 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV and make an open offer to acquire another 26 per cent of the shares in the media group.
Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL) which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), has exercised the rights to acquire 99.5 per cent of the equity shares of RRPR Holding Private Limited, a promoter group company of NDTV.
It will trigger an open offer to acquire up to 26 per cent stake in NDTV in terms of SEBI's Takeover Regulations.
Adani Group said in a release that AMNL's wholly-owned subsidiary VCPL holds warrants of RRPR Holding Private Limited entitling it to convert them into 99.99 per cent stake in RRPR.
VCPL has exercised warrants to acquire 99.5 per cent stake in RRPR. Such acquisition will result in VCPL acquiring control of RRPR.
RRPR is a promoter group company of NDTV and holds 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV.
The release said VCPL, along with AMNL & AEL (persons acting in concert), will launch an open offer to acquire up to 26 per cent stake in NDTV, in compliance with the requirements of the SEBI's (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011.
It said NDTV has pioneered the delivery of credible news for over three decades and operates three national news channels - NDTV 24x7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit. It also has strong online presence and remains one of the most followed news handles on social media with more than 35 million followers across various platforms, the release added.
NDTV recorded a Revenue of Rs 421 crore with an EBITDA of Rs 123 crore and net profit of Rs 85 crore in FY22 with negligible debt.
"This acquisition is a significant milestone in the journey of AMNL's goal to pave the path of new age media across platforms," said Sanjay Pugalia, CEO, AMG Media Networks Limited.
"AMNL seeks to empower Indian citizens, consumers and those interested in India, with information and knowledge. With its leading position in news and its strong and diverse reach across genres and geographies, NDTV is the most suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on our vision. We look forward to strengthening NDTV's leadership in news delivery."
AMNL, wholly owned subsidiary of AEL, houses the media business of the Adani Group. The company was recently incorporated to set up a credible next generation media platform with emphasis on digital and broadcast segments, amongst others, the release said, adding VCPL, which was recently acquired by AMNL, is its wholly owned subsidiary.
Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) is the flagship company of Adani Group, one of India's largest business organisations.