Adani Group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises, through a stock filing on Thursday, said in a letter to NDTV group firm RRPR Holding that its stake in NDTV has been “temporarily attached” by the income tax authorities and the tax is to be transferred. Agency approval will be required. “There is no merit or basis in law or in fact and that is wrong.”
The Adani stock filing said, “The IT orders are applicable only to the shares of NDTV held by RRPR and in no way prohibit RRPR from completing the formalities with respect to allotment of equity shares to VCPL on exercise of warrants.” Huh.” Vishwapradhan Commercial, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Networks, the media arm of the Adani Group, has called on RRPR to take all necessary steps and perform its obligations “as specified in the notice, promptly and without further delay”.
For the record, the Adani Group on August 23 announced an indirect acquisition of 29.2 per cent in NDTV, along with an offer to buy another 26 per cent from the open market.
Vishwapradhan Commercial, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMG Media Networks, the media arm of the Adani Group, has exercised rights to acquire 99.5 per cent equity shares of RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd, a promoter group company of NDTV.
VCPL has reportedly exercised its rights on the basis of a loan agreement entered into with Radhika and Prannoy Roy, the founders of NDTV, in 2009-10.
RRPR is the promoter group company of NDTV and holds 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV.
“RRPRH, which owns 29.18 per cent equity interest in NDTV, has informed VCPL on 31st August, 2022 that the equity shares of NDTV held by RRPRH in the year 2017 have been provisionally attached with the notification in 2018 by the Income Tax authorities RRPR Holding Private Limited is the promoter group company of NDTV, NDTV said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
“RRPRH has informed VCPL that operation of these orders of attachment would require approval and/or clarification from Income Tax authorities in respect of the public declaration dated 23rd August, 2022 by VCPL; it directed VCPL in its application to Income Tax authorities Invited to join,” the NDTV filing said.
Earlier, following the Adani Group’s announcement about the acquisition, NDTV informed the stock exchanges on August 25 that its promoters have been barred from accessing the securities market till November 26, 2022, and thus the Adani Group will be blocked from the market. Regulator SEBI approval would be required. news channel company
In response, Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, on August 26, through a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, said that prior approval from the market regulator is not required for allotting the shares of NDTV to its entity Vishwapradhan Commercial.
“The arguments raised by RRPR (a promoter group company of NDTV) in the letter are baseless, legally untenable and devoid of merit. Therefore RRPR is bound to immediately discharge its obligation and allot the equity shares specified in the warrant exercise notice,” the Adani company’s exchange filing had said.
The warrant exercise notice, the filing said, has been issued by VCPL under a contract that is binding on the RRPR. Hence RRPR is bound to comply with its contractual obligations.