‘Shock and disbelief’
An Indian billionaire close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to buy a broadcaster seen as the last major critical voice on television, stoking fears about media freedom in the world's largest democracy.
Under Modi, India has slipped 10 places in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom ranking to 150 out of 180.
Gautam Adani -- Asia's richest person, with interests ranging from Australian coal mines to India's busiest ports -- announced late Tuesday that his firm had indirectly acquired a 29-percent stake in NDTV and was bidding for a further 26 percent.
NDTV said that the move came "without any discussion" with the broadcaster.
Yesterday morning an employee at NDTV told AFP that there was a "general sense of shock and disbelief" in the newsroom following the announcement.
Geeta Seshu, founder of the Free Speech Collective, an independent organisation that advocates press freedom, said that while NDTV has been "struggling" commercially for some time, "the manner of this takeover is shocking, given the naked display of economic and political muscle".
The Adani group's closeness to the government was "hardly a secret", she added.
Self-made billionaire Adani, 60, this year overtook fellow Indian Mukesh Ambani to become Asia's richest man, with a net worth of $139 billion according to Forbes.
Ambani's wealth and influence have also grown under Modi -- he now owns more than 70 media outlets.
Hartosh Singh Bal, journalist at Caravan magazine -- a rare critical voice among print media -- said the takeover could bring the curtain down on "the only channel left that could be called partly independent".
"The government influence on the media is growing. The control of what I call oligarchs -- the Adanis and the Ambanis -- is also growing and it will keep on growing," he told AFP. "This (takeover) means there is almost no independent media left and that shrinking space is extremely dangerous."
At the heart of Adani Group's two-stage plan to snap up a majority stake in NDTV is a little-known Indian company called Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), founded in 2008. More than a decade ago, NDTV founders Radhika and Prannoy Roy took a 4 billion Indian rupees ($50 million) loan from VCPL, and in exchange issued warrants that allowed the company to acquire a 29.18% stake in the news group. Those warrants were convertible at any time. Adani Group said on Tuesday it had acquired VCPL and exercised those rights, which should give it the 29.18% stake.
Adani Group's indirect control over a stake above 25% means it must put forward an open offer to purchase at least 26% more from existing shareholders to give them an opportunity to exit, according to Indian regulations.
If the Adani Group deal succeeds, the founding duo will hold around 32% of NDTV, the internal memo stated. Although NDTV has said the move was without its consent, four lawyers who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday said that Adani Group is well within its legal rights in the deal process so far. NDTV, they said, has limited options.
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