Anandabazar Patrika plans to buy Star Group's 26 % stake in Indian arm
02 Apr 2012
Kolkata-based media group Anandabazar Patrika (ABP) plans to buy STAR Group's entire 26-per cent stake in their Indian television joint venture, Business Standard today reported, citing unnamed sources.
Kolkata-based ABP Group aims to buy STAR Group's stake in Media Content and Communications Services India Pvt Ltd (MCCS).
MCCS is a 74 per cent-26 per cent joint venture between ABP unit Anandabazar Patrika TV and Star News Broadcasting, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp's Star Group, formed in 2003.
A formal announcement could be made as early as today, the report said.
MCCS broadcasts three 24-hour news channels, STAR News in Hindi, STAR Ananda in Bengali and STAR Majha in Marathi.
The report said that the exact valuation and terms of the buyout are not clear, but, according to investment bankers, MCCS is a profit-making business.
ABP is likely to insist on a 12-18 month ''cool off'' or non-compete period for STAR, before it can re-enter the news television space in India, the report added.
Post acquisition, the Bengali and Marathi news channels of MCSS is likely to be called Ananda and Majha TV respectively, while the Hindi channel may change its name to Ananda Bazaar TV.
