Adani’s move to buy NDTV stake unnerves media groups

Adani acquired the right to acquire the 29 per cent stake in NDTV through its acquisition of Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), from Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group, which held warrants that can be converted to equity shares of NDTV.

The founders of NDTV, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, had years ago taken a Rs400 crore ($50 million) loan from Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited, which was acquired by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group. In exchange, they had issued warrants to VCPL, which were convertible into equity shares.

While Reliance had been holding NDTV’s 29 per cent shares for several years, Adani’s move to convert the warrants into equity shares has now become an issue of concern to certain media groups within and outside the country.

NDTV promoters are trying to stall the takeover bid with support from ‘Left-leaning’ media persons and commentators who are crying foul over Adani Group, controlled by the world’s 4th richest person, trying to take over an honest media organisation through evil means.

Ironically, the most vocal among them was Washington Post, a media organisation that is owned by the world’s 3rd richest man, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos.

“Fears for independent media in India as tycoon eyes major news channel”, reads Washington Post’s headline for the article. They shared it on social media with the text, “Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man and an ally of prime minister Narendra Modi, made a hostile bid for NDTV in a move that could reshape India’s media landscape.”

Washington Post was joined by other like-minded media organisations trying to peddle cooked-up claims that the Adani bid is an evil political-corporate plan to attack the ‘so-called’ independent media. 

A similar report published by UK-based The Guadian titled it, “Media freedom fears in India after Modi ally Adani buys 29% in NDTV”.

Another article published in Reuters on 25 August read, “Takeover of NDTV by India’s richest man worries journalists”. 

For years India’s NDTV pursued an independent line critical of the government as others embraced strident nationalism. Now a proposed takeover by tycoon Adani’s conglomerate raises fears that one of the country’s last bastions of free media is under threat,” reads the text.

Desperate efforts made by vacuous claims trying to paint NDTV as a free and independent media amidst widespread criticism that NDTV has for decades sold blatant fake news, and even produced news items that catered to Pakistan’s interests and used by Pakistani groups to promote their anti-India agenda.

Responding to the Roys’ allegations and their attempts to rile up false victimhood by some media houses, Adani Group on Friday clarified that the exercise was a mere conversion of warrants from VCPL and for that no prior approval from market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) was required and that claims made by the Roys are false.

An indirect subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, VCPL said that RRPR is not a party to the Sebi order, which restricted Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy from dealing with securities. “The Warrant Exercise Notice has been issued by VCPL under a contract which is binding on RRPR. RRPR is therefore obligated to comply with its contractual obligations,” it said.

VCPL informed that the exercise of warrants conversion did not violate restrictions imposed on Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy against dealing in securities by Sebi. As such, it contended that no prior written approval from the regulatory body was required.