New Delhi: Days after it was reported that Adani Group will launch its 'open offer' on October 17 to acquire 26 per cent additional stake in NDTV, the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate on Friday clarified that the timelines mentioned in the detailed statement were indicative and that they may have to be revised.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Adani Group said that the VCPL (Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited) on August 29 issued a detailed public statement outlining the tentative target dates for various activities in the ongoing open offer process.
"This is to clarify that the timelines mentioned in the DPS by the Manager are indicative (prepared on the basis of timelines provided under the SAST Regulations) and are subject to receipt of relevant approvals from various statutory/regulatory authorities and may have to be revised accordingly," it said.
The VCPL's manager JM Financial in a detailed statement said that the announcement in the newspapers for 26 per cent additional stake in NDTV will be published on October 14. The date of commencement of the tendering period is October 17 and the offer closing date is November 1, as per the statement. "Last date of communicating the rejection/acceptance and completion of payment of consideration or return of equity shares to the public shareholders is November 16, 2022," JM Financial said.
However, the Adani Group on Friday said that the dates were prepared on the basis of timelines provided under the SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) regulations. On August 23, Adani in a surprise announcement said that it had acquired 28.18 per cent stake in NDTV and would launch an 'open offer' to acquire additional 26 per cent. Adani acquired the stake by first acquiring VCPL, which had warrants to convert into equity in case a loan of over Rs 403.85 crore given to NDTV was not repaid.
The announcement came as a surprise to NDTV promoters and they said the acquisition did not have their consent. However, Adani argued that the RRPR, which had given the warrants to it, had no other option but to transfer the stake to VCPL, which is now a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited.