BENGALURU: New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) said on Monday that an entity backed by its founders has issued shares to a unit of the Adani Group, making the conglomerate media firm led by billionaire Gautam Adani. has reached a step closer to taking over.
The share transfer will give Adani control over 29.18 per cent stake in News Group. Adani is also making an open offer for 26 percent stake in NDTV between November 22 and December 5.
Exchange data showed the open offer drew bids for 5.3 million shares by Monday’s close, or about 32 percent of the 16.8 million shares on offer.
The ports-to-energy group run by Asia’s richest man unveiled plans in late August to acquire a majority stake in the popular news network, seen as a bastion of independent media.
More than a decade ago, NDTV founders Radhika and Prannoy Roy took a loan of 4 billion Indian rupees ($49 million) from a company that Adani acquired in August. In return, they issued warrants that allowed the company to acquire a 29.18 percent stake in Newsgroup.
NDTV had sought to block the transfer of shares in August, saying its founders were barred from buying and selling shares in India’s securities market from 2020, and so they could not transfer the shares. cannot which Adani was trying to preserve in an attempt to control.
NDTV said its founder-backed entity issued the shares on November 26 after the market regulator’s restrictions on its founders expired.
