Asia’s richest man Adani to buy majority stake in NDTV

Adani Group said Tuesday it will buy a majority stake in NDTV, a high-profile Indian news house, as the billionaire Gautam Adani expands his media ambitions.

AMG Media Networks, Adani’s unit, will indirectly purchase a 29.18% stake in New Delhi Television for about $14.3 million and launch an open offer of about $61.7 million to buy another 26% stake, the Indian conglomerate said.

The acquisition comes as Adani, Asia’s richest man, looks to dive into media properties and compete aggressively with Mukesh Ambani, chairman of oil-to-telecom giant Reliance Industries, on another front. Ambani owns media property Network18.

“This acquisition is a significant milestone in the journey of AMNL’s goal to pave the path of new age media across platforms,” said Sanjay Pugalia, CEO of AMG Media Networks, in a statement.

“AMNL seeks to empower Indian citizens, consumers and those interested in India, with information and knowledge. With its leading position in news and its strong and diverse reach across genres and geographies, NDTV is the most suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on our vision. We look forward to strengthening NDTV’s leadership in news delivery.”