NDTV AND THE MYTH OF HOSTILE ACQUISITION

PRANNOY ROY’S ACCUSATION THAT ADANI GROUP'S INDIRECT ACQUISITION OF 29 PER CENT STAKE WAS HOSTILE, HIDES THE FACT THAT MR AND MRS ROY WERE WELL AWARE OF THE POWERS THEY HAD BESTOWED ON THE PREVIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, VCPL AND RRPR THROUGH LOANS AND AGREEMENTS

- SUMEET MEHTA

Adani Group through AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL) and its parent company Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has acquired New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV). This acquisition was done by Adani Group acquiring Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL). VCPL had lent Rs 350 crores to Roys in July 2009. Roys borrowed this money to repay the loan that Roys had taken from ICICI Bank. Here, it is pertinent to note that VCPL had lent the money to Roys as an interest-free loan. However, this loan had a caveat that Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy must first transfer 11,563,683 shares of NDTV, representing 26 per cent of the shareholding to RRPR Holding Private Limited against the first loan of Rs 350 crores advanced by VCPL to RRPR. Subsequently, additional 72,50,245 shares of NDTV held by Mr and Mrs Roy were transferred to RRPR when VCPL lent additional Rs 53 crores to RRPR. In total 1,88,13,928 shares of NDTV representing 29.18 per cent of the shareholding were transferred to RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPR). This is how RRPR became one of the promoters of NDTV. Later VCPL lent Rs 350 crores to RRPR in July 2009. Subsequently, VCPL lent another Rs 53 crores to RRPR in January 2010. Agreements for both these loans of Rs 350 crores and Rs 53 crores were entered into on July 21, 2009, and January 25, 2010, respectively. It is important to know that AMNL is a 100 per cent subsidiary of AEL and AMNL acquired a 100 per cent stake of VCPL from Mahendra Nahata’s companies Eminent Networks and Nextwave Televentures.