After NDTV, Adani group acquires majority stake in news agency IANS

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Adani’s media business

Adani forayed into the media business in March last year when it acquired Quintillion Business Media, which operates the business and financial news digital media platform BQ Prime. It, thereafter, in December took nearly 65 percent stake in broadcaster NDTV.

AMNL was the vehicle for these acquisitions as well.

In the filing, it said, “AMNL has also signed a shareholders’ agreement with IANS and Sandeep Bamzai, a shareholder of IANS, to record their inter-se rights with respect to IANS.”

IANS had a revenue of ₹11.86 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023).

“All operational and management control of IANS will be with AMNL and AMNL will have the right to appoint all directors of IANS,” the filing said.

“Pursuant to the acquisition as set out above, IANS is now a subsidiary of AMNL.”

A first-generation entrepreneur, Adani started off as a commodities trader in 1988 and expanded his business interests to become India’s largest private player in infrastructure, with 13 ports and eight airports. Over the years it diversified into producing coal, energy distribution, data centres and more recently into cement and copper. It even bid and acquired 5G telecom spectrum to set up a private network.

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