Hostile takeover: Cong on Adani group’s buying of stake in NDTV

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday termed the Adani group’s buying of 29.18 per cent stake in media group NDTV a “hostile takeover”. Taking to Twitter, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “The news of a deeply over-leveraged company owned by the PM’s ‘khaas dost’ making a hostile takeover bid of a well-known TV news […]

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday termed the Adani group’s buying of 29.18 per cent stake in media group NDTV a “hostile takeover”.

Taking to Twitter, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “The news of a deeply over-leveraged company owned by the PM’s ‘khaas dost’ making a hostile takeover bid of a well-known TV news network is nothing but concentration of economic and political power, and a brazen move to control and stifle any semblance of an independent media.”

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In a curious turn of events, the media house has said that without any discussion with the New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) or its founder-promoters, a notice has been served upon them by Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), stating that it (VCPL) has exercised its rights to acquire 99.50 per cent control of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPRH), the promoter-owned company that owns 29.18 per cent of NDTV.

“The NDTV founders and the company would like to make it clear that this exercise of rights by VCPL was executed without any input from, conversation with, or consent of the NDTV founders, who, like NDTV, have been made aware of this exercise of rights only today. RRPRH, which owns 29.18 per cent of NDTV, has been told to transfer within two days all its equity shares to VCPL,” the media house said in a regulatory filing.

On Monday, NDTV had issued a clarification on the matter, saying: “We have been asked by a journalist at a business newspaper to comment on whether the founder-promoters of NDTV are selling their stake in NDTV held through RRPR Holding Private Limited.”