Gautam Adani’s open offer for NDTV, with an aim to acquire 26 per cent stake in the news organisation via moe than 1.6 crore shares, managed to fetch 28 lakh shares in its first three days. All eyes are on the offer, which is slated to continue till December 5, 2022, as it will mark the acquisition of a major Indian news outlet by a conglomerate expanding aggressively. Known for entering lucrative sectors from ports to power and FMCG, Adani considers buying NDTV a responsibility rather than a profit-making opportunity.
Adani’s definition of independence
In an interview to British newspaper Financial Times, Adani said that current owner Prannoy Roy can continue to lead NDTV, as the aim is to help an independent news channel to achieve a global presence. He explained that independence means criticising the government when it does something wrong, but having the courage to acknowledge right decisions. The comments from Adani come at a time when Adani has been awarded multiple projects by the Indian government, while NDTV is known to be critical of the regime.
Entered media sector with Bloomberg Quint
So far Adani’s digital media arm AMG Media has bought a stake in BloombergQuint, which has since been rebranded as BQ Prime. The tycoon considers the money spent on acquiring NDTV, a negligible cost to create a global independent news channel. The acquisition by Adani came as Bloomberg ended the JV with Quintillion Media belonging to Raghav Bahl, who was also the founder of Network 18, later acquired by Mukesh Ambani.
More expansion on the cards
Among other plans, the port to power tycoon Adani also announced intentions to enter Israel’s power sector through the interview, and the development of a super app, which will connect airport passengers with Adani Group’s services. While speaking about a possible $4 billion investment in petrochemicals, Adani dismissed concerns about a rivalry with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, saying that the Indian market is big enough for everyone.
