Adani Group announces commitment to completing NDTV open offer

20 Oct 2022 , 08:59 AM

The firm said on Wednesday that the Adani Group is committed to completing the open bid to purchase an additional 26% interest in NDTV.

It should be mentioned that the Gautam Adani-led group missed the deadline for the open offer launch. On October 17, the offer was scheduled to go live.

According to the group, it has now requested feedback from regulator SEBI on its draft open offer letter.

Adani Group acquired Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL) in August. VCPL had given the founders of NDTV more than ten years earlier around Rs400 crore. The agreement had a provision allowing VCPL to acquire 29.18% of NDTV “at any moment.”

The founder-promoters of NDTV refused the offer, arguing that a sale needed the consent of SEBI and the I-T department to be approved. It was allegedly done without the promoters’ knowledge, and they “were absolutely uninformed of the takeover.”

The Adani group had refuted the founders’ assertion, claiming that no I-T approval was necessary for the transaction.

According to the open offer plan, VCPL intended to purchase an additional 26% (or 1.67 crore shares) from AMG Media Networks and Adani Enterprises for a price of Rs294 per share.

The open offer will cost Rs492.81 crore at the price mentioned above if it is fully subscribed.

The decision to acquire NDTV was made in furtherance of the Adani Group’s objective to establish a credible next-generation media platform with an emphasis on digital and broadcast segments, and NDTV is a suitable broadcast and digital platform to carry out this vision, according to VCPL’s stock exchange filing.

According to the document, JM Financial, the business conducting the offer on behalf of VCPL, wrote the letter to SEBI on October 19, 2022. The letter stated that the open offer would (probably) expire on November 1.

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