The open offer, with a price band of $294 per share set, will begin on November 22 and end on December 5, according to a notice issued by JM Financial, the firm managing the offer on behalf of Adani Group firms.
The open offer by billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group to acquire an additional 26% stake in news broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd from the market will begin on Tuesday, November 22.
The offer, with a price band of $294 per share set, will open on November 22 and close on December 5, according to a notice issued by JM Financial, the firm managing the offer on behalf of Adani Group firms. Adani’s previous timeline for the open offer was 17 October to 1 November.
The offer price is 23.07% lower than NDTV’s closing price on Monday. NDTV shares closed at 382.20 on the BSE today, down 5% and touching a lower circuit.
NDTV’s share price reached a high of 540.85 on September 5, 2022, in the previous three months.
According to reports, the promoters of NDTV, Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy (RRPR), may not file a legal challenge to Adani Group’s open offer for additional shares in the company.
Earlier on November 7, capital markets regulator Sebi approved the proposed 492.81-crore open offer.
The conglomerate, led by India’s richest man Gautam Adani, acquired a little-known firm in August that lent more than 400 crore to NDTV’s founders more than a decade ago in exchange for warrants that allowed the company to acquire a 29.18% stake in the media firm at any time.
Following that, VCPL, the firm purchased by the Adani group, announced on October 17 that it would launch an open offer to buy an additional 26% stake in NDTV from minority shareholders. However, the offer was delayed because the market regulator had not approved the open offer.
VCPL, in collaboration with AMG Media Networks and Adani Enterprises Ltd, proposed acquiring an additional 26%, or 1.67 crore equity shares, at a price of $294 per share.
If fully subscribed, the open offer will be worth Rs 492.81 crore at Rs 294 per share.
The promoters of NDTV had challenged the open offer and the acquisition of a stake in VCPL, claiming that the deal could not proceed without Sebi’s approval.
However, the Adani Group had rejected claims that the stake sale would require clearance from tax authorities.
“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 earlier said in a BSE filing.
The NDTV promoters also claimed that they were completely unaware of the takeover and that it was carried out without their consent.
