NDTV’s takeover by a major corporate such as Adani is being seen as a turning point for Indian media, where most top channels are owned by leading conglomerates. For India, the acquisition is along the lines of Elon Musk taking control of social media platform Twitter, with major changes expected at the media house known for being critical of India’s ruling government. After the end of a 13-day open offer, Gautam Adani has managed to bag only a third of the intended 1.67 crore shares, with investors tendering 53.2 lakh stocks.
Adani’s dominant position
But it has added an 8.26 per cent stake to Adani’s existing 29.18 per cent holding in NDTV, making him the largest single shareholder with 37.44 per cent. Now that his stake has surged past founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy’s 32.26 per cent stake, Adani has the power to propose reconstitututing the board. Now he needs to call a meeting of shareholders, who will vote on the new directors, and the resolution will need approval from more than 50 per cent voting stakeholders.
A matter of time
Most of the shares for Adani’s open offer came from corporate investors at 39.3 lakh shares, while seven lakh came from retail investors. Before Adani’s open offer for acquisition of NDTV in lieu of a loan given by VCPL, the Roy’s had a more than 60 per cent stake in the media firm. The founders have already stepped down from the board, and the impending acquisition has also seen the exit of NDTV India’s senior executive editor Ravish Kumar.
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