Mumbai: Shares of Sun TV Network Limited dropped over 5 per cent on Friday morning after a legal dispute emerged between the Maran brothers — Dayanidhi Maran and Kalanithi Maran. Dayanidhi Maran, a DMK MP and former telecom minister, has sent a legal notice to his elder brother and Sun TV’s Chairman and Managing Director, Kalanithi Maran, over alleged financial irregularities.
In the notice, Dayanidhi Maran has accused Kalanithi of committing 'fraudulent practices' and 'misgovernance' during the takeover of Sun TV. He has alleged that his brother was involved in a series of "calculated and coordinated financial crimes" including cheating and money laundering. The notice also threatens to initiate a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
The core of the dispute is related to the shareholding of Sun TV after the death of their father, Murasoli Maran, in 2003. The notice claims that their father passed away without a Will and demands that the company’s shareholding be restored to the levels of 2003. It also calls for investigations by various agencies such as SEBI, RBI, SFIO, ED, and the Registrar of Companies (ROC). Following this development, Sun TV’s stock fell as much as 5.25 per cent to Rs 580 in early trade.
However, it later trimmed some losses to trade 3.41 per cent lower at Rs 591. Over the past 12 months, Sun TV shares have declined by 23.7 per cent, and they are down nearly 13.9 per cent so far this year. Kalanithi Maran currently holds a 75 per cent stake in the company, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 24,124 crore.
Sun TV Network runs television channels in seven languages including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Bengali. It also operates FM radio stations across India and owns the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s T20 league.
The company's financial performance has also been under pressure. In the March quarter (Q4 FY25), Sun TV reported a 10.4 per cent fall in consolidated Profit After Tax to Rs 371.77 crore.
Revenue from operations also declined by 2.15 per cent to Rs 940.59 crore compared to Rs 961.28 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal (Q4 FY24).
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