The DailyBrief Newsletter - 30 November 2022
Radhika Roy and Pranoy Roy have resigned from the board of RRPRH Ltd - a promoter company for NDTV; and Aaftab Poonawalla has made a chilling confession. This and more in today's DailyBrief.
Market Watch
Indian equity benchmarks continued their streak, ending higher for the seventh consecutive session.
The Sensex was up 417.81 points closing at 63,099.65 (the first time it crossed the 63,000 mark), while Nifty was up 140.30 points closing at 18,758.30.
The Roys have resigned from RRPR, paving the way for Gautam Adani to take control of NDTV
Radhika and Pranoy Roy have resigned from the board of RRPR Holdings Limited - the largest shareholder of NDTV, paving the way for Gautam Adani to take over the media house.
Image Credits: Finshots
So how did this come to pass? Well, RRPR Holdings Limited (which owns 29.18% of NDTV) had taken an interest-free loan (for Rs 403.85 crore) from Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Ltd (VCPL) in 2009 and 2010.
In return, they issued warrants to VCPL that entitled it to convert them into a 99.9% equity stake in RRPR.
Gautam Adani bought VCPL in August, and immediately called in the warrants, effectively giving him control of 29.18% of NDTV.
The loans: NDTV was set up by the Roys in 1980 and they took the company public in 2004.
In 2007, the Roys decided to buy back 7.73% stake in NDTV from GA Global Investments, and as SEBI rules demand, made an open offer giving minority shareholders the opportunity to sell.
To buy these shares, they took a loan from India Bulls Financial Services. However, the 2008 financial crisis severely affected NDTV’s stock price, and to pay back India Bulls, they had to take another loan (Rs 375 crore) from ICICI.
To pay back ICICI, in 2009, the Roys took the interest-free loan - mentioned above - from VPCL.
Where do things stand now? Adani’s acquisition of VCPL triggered SEBI’s rules which mandate that he make an open offer for an additional 26% of NDTV shares. This offer is open until December 5.
If Adani manages to get the 26% as well, he would have 55% of NDTV, and even if he doesn’t manage to get 50% of the shares, he could still ask institutional investors to sell him their shares.
However, Prannoy Roy (15.94%) and Radhika Roy (16.32%) together still hold over 32% of the company and continue as the Chairperson, and Executive Director of the company respectively.
Mauritius-registered foreign portfolio investor (FPI) LTS Investment Fund Ltd with a 9.75% stake in NDTV is the next biggest shareholder, and as it turns out, over 98% of their finances are invested in just 4 Adani stocks. So it looks like Adani may well be on his way to closing the deal and taking control of NDTV.
A chilling confession: Shraddha Walkar’s killer has no remorse
Aftab Poonawalla, who murdered his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar and dismembered her, has reportedly confessed to the killing during a polygraph test conducted by Delhi Police at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Rohini.
The details: While the specifics of his confession remain unclear, the one common point in all reports is that he expressed no remorse for the murder or the gruesome manner in which he disposed of the body.
Other reports add that he confessed to having used “the Bumble app to target Hindu women,” and said that “he will be remembered as a hero when he enters paradise.”
Yes, but: Anything said during a polygraph test is inadmissible as primary evidence in a court of law. However, police seek to use the polygraph test to gather other evidence from him.
Poonawala will also undergo a Narco test, wherein a drug called sodium pentothal is injected into the body, which sends one into a trance-like state where lying would be difficult.
The confessions gathered through this test would also be inadmissible in court, but could help the police gather more facts about the murder.
ICYMI
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Christianity has become a minority religion in England and Wales for the first time in history, according to the country’s 2021 Census.
Vivek Agnihotri has announced a follow-up to The Kashmir Files, titled ‘The Kashmir Files: Unreported’.
Sanctions-hit Russia has approached India seeking products for key sectors, including parts for cars, aircraft and trains.
Theatres in Kerala are refusing to screen James Cameron’s much-awaited Hollywood blockbuster ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’ over a profit-sharing dispute.
Scientists from Russia, Germany, and France have managed to revive 13 viruses that were frozen in the permafrost in Siberia and found they’re still infectious.
The Indian Army is using trained birds of prey to destroy or incapacitate enemy drones during military operations.