Adani Enterprises on Nov 22 launched an open offer for additional 26% stake in NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) on November 29 said its promoter entity RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd has approved the resignation of Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy as directors on the firm's board.
Their resignation comes into "effect from the close of business hours of November 29, 2022", the media outlet said in a regulatory filing.
The exchange filing further noted that RRPR has approved the appointment of Sudipta Bhattacharya, the chief technology officer of Adani group; Senthil Sinniah Chengalvarayan, an official of Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL), and veteran journalist Sanjay Pugalia as directors on its board.
Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy are the co-founders of NDTV. Their resignation as directors of RRPR comes a day after the firm transferred its shares constituting up to 99.5 percent of its equity capital to VCPL, which is owned by AMG Media Network Ltd (AMNL), the media arm of Adani group.
RRPR, led by the Roys, had taken a loan of Rs 400 crore from VCPL over a decade ago. The terms of the loan agreement allowed VCPL to acquire a 29.18 percent stake in NDTV, in case of the loan not being repaid.
The loan-issuing company was acquired by the Adani group in August, and subsequently, a share conversion warrant was issued. NDTV had attempted to block the conversion notice, citing a two-year bar imposed by SEBI on the media group's promoters from dealing in the securities markets.
The ban, however, expired on November 26.
In an exchange filing on November 28, NDTV said RRPR has issued the shares to VCPL in "consonance with the conversion notice dated August 23, 2022, following the expiry of the 2-year restraint imposed by the Securities &Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the matter of dealing in securities, on November 26, 2022."
With the transfer of shares to VCPL, the Adani-owned entity has taken over a 29.18 percent stake in NDTV. The Gautam Adani-led conglomerate had, on November 22, launched an open offer for an additional 26 percent stake, which would allow it to wrest ownership of the media company.
The offer, with a price band of Rs 294 per share, will close on December 5. If fully subscribed, the open offer will amount to Rs 492.81 crore.
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