Media Mergers and Acquisitions

India Today Group

Aditya Birla Group

Living Media (India Today Group)

27.5

NA

May 2012

The stake is being purchased through IGH Holdings Private Ltd, an investment company of industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla-led business conglomerate. After such transfers, the subsidiaries and associate firms of Living Media would include TV Today Network, ITAS Media, Today Retail Network, Today Merchandise, Harper Collins, Mail Today Newspapers, India Today Online, Universal Learn Today, Integrated Databases India and Automotive Exchange Pvt Ltd.

Dainik

Bhaskar

Group's 50% stake in

Diligent

Media Corp

Essel Group

DB Corp

50

NA

May 2012

Launched in 2005 by Diligent Media Corporation, DNA (Daily News & Analysis) is a broadsheet published in the English language from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Bangalore and Indore in India.

Essel bought Bhaskar Group’s entire stake in the JV (joint venture).

 

 

Private Ltd- Naidunia

Media

Limited

is its sub

sidiary

Dainik Jagran

Nai Dunia

100

300 (Estimated)

 

 

April 2012

 

 

 

 

BBC

Worl

dwide-

World

wide

Media

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (BCCL)

BBC

50

46.7

August 2011

The JV was formed eight years ago and has under its umbrella a bouquet of brands and magazines such as Femina, Filmfare, GRAZIA, HELLO!, BBC TopGear, BBC Good Homes and Lonely Planet, among others.

 

 

 

Divya

Prabhat Publication

D B Corp

Divya Prabhat Publication

60

1.2

July 2011

Divya Prabhat runs Prabhat Kiran, an afternoon newspaper in Madhya Pradesh

 

 

Jagran

Praka

shan

Limited

(JPL)

Blackstone Group

Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL)

12

225

April 2011

Blackstone GPV Capital Partners (Mauritius) V-Q Ltd had invested Rs 225 crore in accordance with various government approvals. It took 18 months for a green signal from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. Jagran Media Network Investment Pvt Ltd is JPL's holding company, holding a stake of 59.46 per cent.

 

 

 

 

7

NDTV

Oswal Green Tech

NDTV

14.7

24

December 2011

Oswal Green Tech is a chemical and fertilizer company

 

 

8

B4U Tele

vision

Network

India

 Private

Limited

Eros International

B4U Television Network India Private Limited

76

284

April 2012

Eros already owns 24% stake in the television network, but has not exercised significant influenceover the company. Eros will purchase the 76% it does not currently own.

 

 

9

UTV Soft

ware Com

mu

nications

Walt Disney

UTV Software Communi

cations

49.56

242

February 2012

Disney first acquired a 14.9 percent stake in UTV for about $15 million in 2006. Subsequently in 2008, Disney upped its stake to 32.1 percent for about $230 million, which also gave Disney a 15 percent stake (valued at about $30 million) in UTV’s broadcasting unit UTV Global Broadcasting Limited. Last year, Disney upped its stake to 50.44 percent in UTV, leaving co-founder Ronnie Screwvala and three other backers holding a 19.82 percent stake. 

 

 

 

10

UTV Sof

tware Commu

nications

Reliance Capital

UTV Software Commu

nications

66

NA

December 2011

Reliance Capital, Anil Amban’s company bout 66% in UTV that runs Bloomberg UTV which was UTV founder Ronnie Screwwala’s stake

 

 

11

ESPN-

StarS

ports

News Corp

Disney Media Networks

50

NA

June 2012

16 year partnership with Walt Disney and ESS ended with this deal. ESPN Star Sports operates 28 broadcast networks in 24 Asian countries, including a number focused on cricket.

 

 

 

12

MAA Television Network

 

Sony Pictures Television

 

MAA Television Network

30

NA

April 2012

MAA Television Network Limited (MTN), which runs a network of Telugu television channels including the entertainment channel MAA TV, music channel MAA Music, MAA Movies and MAA Junior.

13

Eenadu Group

Netwo

rk18

Reliance India Limited

The deal between RIL and Network18 aims to raise funds for the acquisition of the ETV channels through a rights issue, to be funded by the independent media trust, set up by RIL.

2100

January 2012

Reliance Industries and Network 18 group joined hands for a multi-layered deal, under which the Mukesh Ambani-led corporate giant would sell a part of its interest in Eenadu TV channels and would also fund promoters of the media group. Network 18 and TV18 would raise about Rs 4,000 crore including Rs 1,700 crore contributions of the promoters. TV18 acquired 100 per cent stake in regional news channels, 50 per cent in non-Telugu entertainment channels and 24.5 per cent interest in two Telugu channels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

Metronation Chennai Television Limited

Educa

tional Trustee Company Pvt Ltd

New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) and Kasturi and Sons Ltd (publisher of The Hindu newspaper)

100

(49% from Kasturi & Sons and 51% from NDTV)

15

October 2011

NDTV, which operates NDTV 24X7, NDTV India, NDTV Profit and NDTV Good Times, owneds 51 per cent stake in the venture, with the remaining 49 per cent lying with Kasturi and Sons. Kasturi and Sons owns a number of publications such as The Hindu, The Hindu Business Line, The Sportstar and Frontline.

 

 

 

15

 

 

Asianet

News Network (ANN)

Kannada Prabha Public

ations

Asianet

51

NA

July 2011

Kannada Prabha is the New Indian Express Group’s leading Kannada daily newspaper.

 

 

 

16

NDTV

Astro All Asia Networks Plc. (Astro)

NDTV Lifestyle Holdings Pvt Ltd

49

185

March 2011

NDTV sold 49% of its stake for $40 million (about Rs 180 crore) in its arm NDTV Lifestyle Holdings Pvt Ltd (NLHPL) to Astro All Asia Networks Plc. Last September, the company had announced it had entered into a strategic alliance with South Asia Creative Assets Ltd (SACAL), a subsidiary of Astro All Asia Networks Plc, for lifestyle channels in India.

 

The agreement envisaged SACAL acquiring a 49 per cent stake in NLHPL in two tranches in the proposed holding company for NDTV Lifestyle Ltd— the lifestyle subsidiary of NDTV.