INDIA

Billionaire Adani to control nearly 65% of NDTV as founders sell stake
 

Prannoy Roy, Indian journalist

Gautam Adani, Indian businessman

Fri, December 23, 2022 

BENGALURU (Reuters) -New Delhi Television Ltd's founders said on Friday they have decided to transfer most of their shares in the company to billionaire Gautam Adani, giving his conglomerate control over nearly 65% of the news network.

Radhika and Prannoy Roy will sell a 27.26% stake in NDTV to an entity owned by Adani, giving it 64.71% of NDTV, regulatory filings by NDTV showed.

Adani already held more than 37% in NDTV after an open offer and an earlier acquisition of a company owned by the founders.

"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 NDTV to the AMG Media Network," the founders said in a statement.

"Since the open offer was launched, our discussions with Gautam Adani have been constructive; all the suggestions we made were accepted by him positively and with openness," they added.

Radhika and Prannoy Roy will retain a combined 5% stake in NDTV.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)