R-ADAG To Come Out With Open Offer For TV Today

Reliance Capital, part of the Reliance - Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has announced its intention to buy a further 20% in TV Today, the television firm that owns Aaj Tak news channel. RCL has offered to pay Rs 130.5 to shareholders of TV Today for increasing its stake to close to 32%. The firm, along with Reliance Capital Trustee, now holds just over 14% in the company. The offer is at 7% discount to TV Today''s closing price of Rs 140.15, shares of which have moved up 3.85% in the past week and 23.59% in the past month. On Tuesday, they ended 1.06% lower at Rs 140.15. RCL holds stakes in some other media stocks such as NDTV, Global Broadcast News, and TV 18. Industry sources said TV Today is valued at about Rs 750 crore which they believed is very low compared to that of some other news channels. TV Today runs Aaj Tak, Tez and Dilli Aaj Tak in Hindi and Headlines Today in English. TV Today is looking at the regional language news segment and plans to launch a few such channels in the coming months, for which it needs a huge funds infusion. The group also plans to come out with a daily newspaper, in association with The Daily Mail of London. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group has widespread interest in the media and entertainment sector. It owns Adlabs, one of India''s leading multiplex and film production companies.