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Times
of India group eyes Gujarati daily Sandesh |
| Bennett,
Coleman & Co Ltd., owners of the Times of India group of publications,
is moving aggressively to acquire non-English language publishing
houses. It is now in negotiations with publicly-listed Gujarati-language
publishing house Sandesh for a possible takeover. More... |
|
Conde
Nast Traveler ties up with India Today Group for marketing in South
Asia |
| Conde
Nast Traveler has tied-up with India Today group to with the latter
exploring advertising sales, marketing and relationship management
for the American publication. The relationship covers the whole
of South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bangladesh.
More... |
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Sunil
Dang elected President of Indian Languages Newspapers Association
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| The
Indian Languages Newspapers Association (ILNA) elected its new office
bearers at the 65th AGM of the organisation held in New Delhi on
July 15, 2006. Sunil Dang, Editor of DayAfter and E & P Rajdhani
Times, was elected the President. More... |
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Launches
: |
| "
Exposure Media to launch 'Action Asia' and 'Designer' " English daily Pioneer to launch Chandigarh edition " ASAPP Media launches 'Projects Info' ""More... |
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| The Indian print publishing market is hot and
is getting hotter. There were approximately 42 launches of magazines
and newspapers during the first seven months of the current year.
Indian Media Observer brings you a detailed classification of
these launches.
Major observations:
Apart from the dailies and magazines already launched, several new launches are on the verge of taking off in the month of August adding to the frenzy of launches. Click here for a detailed break-up of the launches in the first seven months of the current year. |
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A major
development, in the battle for control over Amar Ujala, the Hindi
newspaper, took place, when, in a landmark judgment, the Company
Law Board (CLB) on July 10, 2006 drew an adverse inference on the
financial dealings of the minority shareholders led by Ajai Agarwal,
in their bid to buy out the 64.67 per cent of equity stake held
by the majority shareholders, led by Atul Maheshwari, Managing Director,
Amar Ujala, in Amar Ujala Publications.
Reversing the roles of the two warring faction, the CLB passed an order on July 10, 2006 directing the majority shareholders of Amar Ujala to pay out the minority shareholders their dues in terms of the consent order dated January 25, 2006. The majority shareholders of Amar Ujala, led by its MD, Atul Maheshwari, have been directed to pay the Ajai Agarwal faction an amount of Rs 138 crore beginning August 1, 2006 in a period spanning over nine months. The bone of contention was that the acquisition was being effected through 3rd party funds, and not from the funds of the minority stakeholders themselves. The minority shareholders had forged a third party funding arrangement with Mediavest India Pvt Ltd, a Zee Group company, and an unknown merchant banker to buy out the majority stakes for Rs 252 crore. Even the very first installment of 5 per cent of Rs 252 crore amount of consideration due to majority was paid directly from the current account of the Mediavest India. Majority shareholders controlling Amar Ujala alleged that the minority group was engineering a third party takeover of Amar Ujala under the garb of the consent order for amicable dispute settlement. Earlier, with a view to end the dispute amicably, under the Consent Order dated January 25, 2006, the minority shareholders controlling 35.33 per cent equity in Amar Ujala were given the first option to buy out the majority shareholders equity holding of 64.67 per cent in the company for Rs 252 crore. The consent order dated January 25, 2006 expressly noted that since "… both the parties expressed their desire to keep the business of the company within the family and that is why the option was given to the petitioners to either buy or sell, the petitioners having opted to take full ownership and control of the company - that is within the family - they shall not either directly or indirectly facilitate or negotiate or shop around with any third party for a period of three years to either acquire the ownership or control of the company." The CLB observed that the terms of the MOU were unrealistic and did not convincingly give the impression of being a pure and simple financial agreement. The Board further observed, "There was not even a whisper that the petitioners would be able to mobilise funds to avoid the lenders from taking over the control of shares." Expressing deep concern over the terms of the MOU, the Board observed that, "the whole arrangement of financing for acquisition of shares of the respondents does not appear to be a straight forward one and it is only a prelude to the final takeover of the company after the period of three years." |
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Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd., owners of the
Times of India group of publications, is moving aggressively to
acquire non-English language publishing houses. It is now in negotiations
with publicly-listed Gujarati-language publishing house Sandesh
for a possible takeover.
BCCL reportedly started talking to Sandesh promoters even before it finalized a 100 per cent buyout of the owners of Vijayanand Printers Ltd, a Kannada-language publishing company, with a local newspaper and some magazines in its fold. However, BCCL and Sandesh are denying any "takeover attempt", but said that there could be some kind of "business cooperation arrangement" between the two. When asked about the development, Ravi Dhariwal, Executive Director, TOI, Delhi, said, "We are looking at the best possible way of cooperation, where the strength of both the publications can be used to add value to our readers and will be mutually-beneficial." When asked what kind of 'cooperation', Dhariwal replied, "It could be in terms of content sharing or sharing the circulation." He, however, refused to elaborate further There are also reports that Times of India is also looking for printing synergy with Sandesh. A senior source in Sandesh, while refuting any such development, maintained that there was no exchange of any kind of equity in this 'business cooperation'. The sources further said that the nitty gritty of the deal was still being worked out on the premise to find a synergy between both the publications, whereby the strengths of both could be used to the maximum. Gujarati daily Sandesh is published from Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Rajkot and Bhavnagar and faces stiff competition from Gujarat Samachar and Bhaskar Group's Divya Bhaskar. |
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Conde
Nast Traveler has tied-up with India Today group to with the latter
exploring advertising sales, marketing and relationship management
for the American publication. The relationship covers the whole
of South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bangladesh. Ashish Bagga, CEO, India Today Group, confirmed the alliance and said that India as a country offers far more variety than any other country in the world. He further said that the India Today Group has experience of the prospects of advertisement in the sphere of traveling, from publishing their travel magazine 'India Today Travel Plus', which give them better advantage in addressing the advertising potential of a premium magazine in the region of South Asia. Lisa Hughes, Vice-president and Publisher, Conde Nast Traveler, said, "We are proud to be working with such a prestigious media group who appreciate our editorial excellence and credibility." |
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The
Indian Languages Newspapers Association (ILNA) elected its new office
bearers at the 65th AGM of the organisation held in New Delhi on
July 15, 2006. Sunil Dang, Editor of DayAfter and E & P Rajdhani
Times, was elected the President.
Speaking about his key focus area, Dang said that he would emphasise on expanding the membership base to all corners of the country. At present, the membership of ILNA is concentrated in the Western region of the country. "I aim to take the membership of ILNA above 1,000 from its present 400 in a year or two. I will also work towards making ILNA a well-recognised body at national and international levels." Speaking about the resolution passed at the meeting, Dang said that the association would work together and pressurise the government for a financial package for the language newspapers in India, who actually send across the message of the government to the rural masses. |
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The
newsletter - Indian Media Observer - is produced by Chronosphere’s
CEO Bhupesh Trivedi personally.
Chronosphere is based at Unit-1, H Govindji Compound, New Nagardas Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400069, INDIA
Chronosphere is based at Unit-1, H Govindji Compound, New Nagardas Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400069, INDIA