Reliance Industries completes Network18 open offers, buys Rs 17 cr worth shares

New Delhi: Independent Media Trust, controlled by Reliance Industries, has completed its open offers for three Network18 Group companies with a total fund outgo of about Rs 17 crore as not many investors tendered their shares. In separate filings, Independent Media Trust said it acquired 54.14 lakh shares for Rs 16.34 crore in TV18 Broadcast while buying 2.60 lakh shares of Network18 Media for Rs 1.06 crore.[caption id=“attachment_2027923” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The Network18 logo.[/caption] In the third open offer, over 15 lakh shares of Infomedia Press Ltd were acquired for Rs 45.9 lakh. In comparison, it was proposed to acquire shares worth over Rs 2,200 crore through these three open offers. On 29 May, RIL’s board approved funding of up to Rs 4,000 crore to Independent Media Trust (IMT), of which RIL is the sole beneficiary, for acquisition of control in Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (NW18), including its subsidiary TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TV18). The open offers opened on 3 December 2014 and closed on 16 December 2014. “IMT would use the funds to acquire control over NW18 and TV18 resulting in ownership of about 78 percent in NW18 and 9 percent in TV18 and to acquire shares tendered in the open offers,” the company had said in a statement. An open offer was made for the acquisition of up to 22,99,46,996 equity shares of Network18 Media & Investments, amounting to a 21.96 percent stake, for Rs 943.70 crore and to acquire up to 44,65,10,110 equity shares, or 26 percent, of TV18 Broadcast for Rs 1,347.57 crore. A third open offer was made for up to 1,30,62,224 equity shares of Infomedia Press Ltd. This constitutes a 26 percent stake purchase for Rs 3.92 crore. The Network18 Group has interests in television, Internet, films, e-commerce, magazines, mobile content and allied businesses. Its properties include moneycontrol.com, Firstpost.com, Homeshop18.com and Bookmyshow.com, while Colors, CNN-IBN, CNBC TV18, IBN7 and CNBC Awaaz are among its broadcast channels. In January 2012, Network18 Group and Reliance Industries joined hands for a multi-layered deal, under which the Mukesh Ambani-led corporate giant would sell part of its interest in ETV channels and would get access to content and distribution assets of the electronic media group. PTI