New Delhi, December 23
NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy said in a statement on Friday that they would sell all but five per cent of their shareholding in the media conglomerate to the Adani Group for up to Rs 647.6 crore.
Earlier, the Adani Group had served a fait accompli on the Roys by becoming the majority shareholding of NDTV. The announcement comes hours after the NDTV board appointed two journalists — Sanjay Pugalia and Senthil Chengalvarayan —nominee directors of the Adani Group.
The Roys will sell 27.26 per cent of their remaining 32.26 per cent shareholding in NDTV, according to stock exchange filings by the company. The sale will happen on or after December 30 in one or more tranches. The Adani Group will then control 69.71 per cent of NDTV. Currently, the Roys hold 32.26 per cent stake and the Adani Group 37.44 per cent. There was no mention of the price at which the shares will be sold, but the stock exchange filing said the volume-weighted average market price of NDTV in the last 60 trading days was Rs 368.43. This means that the sale of 1.75 crore shares would fetch nearly Rs 647.6 crore.
“The AMG Media Network, after the recent open offer, is now the single-largest shareholder in NDTV. Consequently, with mutual agreement, we have decided to divest most of our shares in the NDTV to the AMG Media Network,” said the Roys in the statement.
“Since the open offer was launched, our discussions with Gautam Adani have been constructive; all suggestions we made were accepted by him positively and with openness,” added the statement.
“We started NDTV in 1988 with the belief that journalism in India was world-class but needed a strong and effective broadcast platform that would allow it to grow and shine. After 34 years, we believe that NDTV is an institution that has met so many of our hopes and ideals. We are so proud and grateful that across the globe, NDTV is recognised as ‘India’s and Asia’s Most-Trusted News Broadcaster’,” they said. The Adani Group said it was hopeful NDTV’s values would not only be preserved but expanded as well.
