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Adani Group's Rs 493-Crore Open Offer For NDTV To Start From Tuesday

The offer, for which a price band of Rs 294 per share has been fixed, will open on Nov. 22 and closes on Dec. 5.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>The Adani Group logo is seen on the facade of one of its buildings. (Source: Amit Dave/Reuters)</p></div>
The Adani Group logo is seen on the facade of one of its buildings. (Source: Amit Dave/Reuters)

Adani group's open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake in the media firm New Delhi Television from the market would start from Tuesday.

The offer, for which a price band of Rs 294 per share has been fixed, will open on Nov. 22 and closes on Dec. 5, said a notice by JM Financial, the firm managing the offer on behalf of Adani Group firms.

Markets regulator SEBI on Nov. 7 granted its approval to the proposed Rs 492.81-crore open offer.

The conglomerate, run by India's richest man Gautam Adani, in August acquired a little-known company that lent over Rs 400 crore to NDTV's founders more than a decade ago in exchange for warrants that allowed the company to acquire a stake of 29.18% in the newsgroup at any time.

Post that, VCPL—the firm that the Adani group bought out—announced that it would launch an open offer on Oct. 17 to buy an additional 26% stake from minority shareholders of NDTV. However, the offer was delayed since SEBI had not given its approval to the open offer.

VCPL along with AMG Media Networks and Adani Enterprises Ltd. had proposed to acquire an additional 26% stake, or 1.67 crore equity shares, at an offer price of Rs 294 per share.

If fully subscribed, the open offer will amount to Rs 492.81 crore at a price of Rs 294 per share.

"The decision to acquire NDTV was arrived at in furtherance of the Adani Group's objective to set up a credible next-generation media platform with an emphasis on digital and broadcast segments, and that NDTV is a suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on this vision," Adani Enterprises had said in a regulatory filing in October.

On Monday, shares of NDTV closed at Rs 382.20 on BSE, down 5%, touching a lower circuit.

Disclaimer: Adani Enterprises is in the process of acquiring a 49% stake in Quintillion Business Media Ltd., the owner of BQ Prime.