Adani Group said on Wednesday that it is committed to seeing the process through and has requested feedback from SEBI on its draught open offer letter after missing the deadline for launching an open offer to purchase an additional 26% interest in NDTV.
The conglomerate, led by India’s richest man Gautam Adani, acquired a little-known firm in August in exchange for warrants that permitted the purchase of a 29.18% stake in the news organisation at any moment. This company had financed the founders of NDTV more than Rs 400 crore more than ten years prior.
Following that, Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL), the company that the Adani group acquired, declared that it will launch an open offer on October 17 to acquire an additional 26% interest from NDTV’s minority shareholders.
VCPL has requested SEBI “to offer its opinions on the Draft Letter of Offer filed in respect to the Open Offer, in compliance with the SEBI (SAST) Regulations,” according to a stock exchange filing by Adani Enterprises Ltd. At an offer price of Rs 294 per share, VCPL, AMG Media Networks, and Adani Enterprises Ltd. offered to purchase an additional 26%, or 1.67 crore equity shares.
On the BSE on Wednesday, NDTV shares closed at Rs 332.90 a share, a 13% premium.
The statement stated that NDTV is a viable broadcast and digital platform to carry out this ambition. “The decision to acquire NDTV was arrived at in support of the Adani Group’s objective to establish up a credible next generation media platform with emphasis on digital and broadcast segments,” it added.
According to a JM Financial advertisement, the company in charge of managing the open offer on Adani’s behalf, the open offer was scheduled to begin trading on October 17.
According to the filing, on behalf of VCPL, JM Financial sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on October 19, 2022. The company in charge of organising the offer, JM Financial, had already announced that the open offer will likely end on November 1.
The open offer will cost Rs 492.81 crore at a price of Rs 294 per share if it is fully subscribed.
The founders and promoters of NDTV, however, disputed this, claiming that both Sebi and the Income Tax Department approval are required for the transaction to move through.
Previous assertions that the substantial stake sale by the NDTV founders would need tax authority approval were disputed by Adani Group.
The NDTV promoters had asserted that they had been fully uninformed of the takeover and that it had been carried out without their permission.