On Friday, 13th January 2023, New Delhi Television Ltd said that some more of its higher-level executives have resigned from their positions. The list includes Group President Suparna Singh, Chief Strategy Officer Arijit Chatterjee, and Chief Technology and Product Officer Kawaljit Singh Bedi. These resignations come within a month after the Adani group took control of about 65 per cent shares of New Delhi Television Limited. The company shared this information in a filing made with exchanges BSE and NSE.
The communication from NDTV to the stock exchanges read, “The company is in the process of putting up a new leadership team which will set a fresh strategic direction and goals for the company.”
In an internal email, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia informed NDTV employees of the development. Reportedly, he said in that email, “As an update, three of our colleagues: Suparna Singh, Arijit Chatterjee, and Kawaljit Singh Bedi have submitted their resignations and have decided to move on from NDTV. They have been the pillars of strength for the group and have played important roles in getting the company back to profitability. We wish them the very best in their future endeavors.”
He further said, “In line with the thoughts I shared during the town hall, the Adani Group is committed to transitioning NDTV into a new-age, global digital media organization. As I interact with many of you at NDTV, I am more than convinced that we have the value system, mindset, capability, and credibility to make our aspirations come true soon. We shall work together and keep you updated at all stages.”
On 23rd December 2023, NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy divested 13.44% and 13.82% of their shares respectively to the Adani Group, a total of 1,75,77,676 equity shares. This took the total share of the Adani group in the NDTV to 64.7%. The Roys have retained just 2.5% each stake in the media company.
The acquisition of NDTV by Adani Group began with the acquisition of Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Ltd (VCPL), a Reliance Group company, by AMG Media Networks, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited, in August last year. Vishvapradhan held warrants of RRPR, in exchange for an interest-free loan, with the rights to convert them to 99.9% share in RRPR. RRPR was the holding company of Roys, through which they owned 29.18% in NDTV. After acquiring Vishvapradhan, the Adani group executed the warrants acquiring RRPR, and became the 29.18% owner in NDTV.
After that, the group made an open offer as per regulatory provisions, and Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited acquired an 8.27% stake through the open offer. On December 23, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy divested 13.44% and 13.82% of their NDTV shares respectively to the Adani Group, keeping 2.5% shares each. This brought Adani’s stake in NDTV to 64.7%.
