New Delhi Television’s (NDTV) promoter company RRPR Holding has transferred 99.5% of its equity shares to the Adani group-owned Vishvapradhan Commercial (VCPL), taking billionaire Gautam Adani a step closer to taking over one of India’s biggest broadcasting houses. The transaction was in consonance with a conversion notice issued by VCPL on 23 August 2022, media reports said.
NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy have also resigned as directors of the promoter group vehicle RRPRH with immediate effect, the company said in a regulatory filing. The board of RRPR Holding also approved the appointment of Sudipta Bhattacharya, Sanjay Pugalia, and Senthil Sinniah Chengalvarayan as Directors on its board with immediate effect, NDTV said.
The share transfer will give Gautam Adani a 29.18% stake in NDTV. The port-to-power conglomerate led by Adani has another open offer for another 26% stake in the media group.
“We hereby inform you that VCPL has received a letter from RRPR Holding Private Limited (‘RRPR’) (through its lawyer) dated 28 November 2022, confirming to issue equity shares constituting 99.5% of its equity capital to VCPL on November 28, 2022,” said Adani Enterprises in its regulatory filing, LiveMint reported.
The open offer, which began on November 22, has seen shareholders tender 5.3 million shares, or 31.78% of the issue size of 16.7 million shares, so far, the exchange data showed.
NDTV has three national news channels – NDTV 24×7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit, besides having a strong online presence.
A decade ago, NDTV founders Radhika and Prannoy Roy took a Rs 4 billion ($49.00 million) loan from a company that Adani acquired in August. In exchange, they issued warrants that allowed the company to acquire a 29.18 per cent stake in the news group.
(This article was updated on 30 November to include the resignation of the NDTV founders)
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
