Adani Enterprises has invested INR 900 crores in AMG Media Network which is its wholly-owned media arm. The investment was made during the last financial year by subscribing to INR 900 crore 0% compulsory convertible debentures of INR 10 each. The flagship company of Gautam Adani, the Adani Group, has been on this acquisition after incorporating AMG Media Networks in April 2022. Since then, the company has been on its journey towards further evaluating its various assets in the entertainment and media sector. The company has also recognised the media sector as a crucial growth area. It will have an important role in contributing to the profitability of the conglomerate business. The controversies of the Adani scam will also gradually subside.
Adani’s Acquisition of AMG Media Network
AMG acquired 76% of category 1 shares and 99.26% of category II shares of IANS India earlier this year. Because of the acquisition of shares, IANS became a subsidiary of the group on 17 January 2024. In its annual report, the Adani Group mentioned that it is currently finalising the fair value of IANS’ assets and liabilities as per Ind AS 103 accounting standards. After this, IANS has been accounted for on a professional fair valuation basis. This includes a recorded goodwill of INR 7.42 crore.
AMG Media also acquired Quintillion Business Media. This company was owned by the business news website, BQ Prime. The acquisition was made for INR 100 crores; it was done in two separate transactions spread across FY3 and FY24. BQ Prime has recently merged into NDTV Profit. The group is currently in the process of determining the fair values of Quintillion. It has also accounted for the company on a provisional fair valuation basis. It also recorded a goodwill of INR 128.77 crore in FY24.
The Increased Presence in the Media and Entertainment Sector
AMG has acquired controlling stakes of 64.71 % in NDTV. This company was founded by Prannoy and Radhika Roy. The acquisition was made for INR 900.69 crore in cash in FY23. NDTV currently operates 6 TV news channels and a digital news platform NDTV.com. NDTV has already expanded its presence regionally. The company has also scaled digitally. There has been a 39% increase in the company’s global digital traffic. Adani Group has also made huge investments in next-generation infrastructure. It has also built new facilities in BKC, Mumbai and NCR, Delhi.
NDTV also has plans to expand its digital portfolio. It aims to create digital-first content in various languages. The company also plans to expand new verticals to enhance business growth. It has already launched four news channels last fiscal. This includes three regional channels and one business channel. Moving forward, the company also plans to launch its high-definition feeds of NDTV 24×7, NDTV India, and NDTV Profit. It has secured licences from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for all these new acquisitions.
NDTV is also presently exploring the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence-based applications in the news media in FY24. NDTV suffered a loss of INR 21 crore from a net profit of INR 53 crore. The revenue dropped by 1.75% to INR 393 crore. However, looking at the way the company is currently progressing, it is expected to reverse the loss incurred and earn excellent profitability from its business operations. The Adani Group will also be able to recover from the losses it suffered when the probe of the Adani scam was ongoing.
Conclusion
The Adani Group has always been deeply interested in taking up new business ventures. Time and again, it has explored new business areas and earned excellent profitability from its business. Although the company received a lot of setbacks during the Hindenburg situation accusing the group of the Adani scam, it was back on its toes very soon. Currently, the company is on its journey towards ensuring its business operations experience an extraordinary boost. It is already in the process of venturing into the news and media sector further. This will give the company’s business an excellent exposure. It will also be able to earn enhanced revenue from its business operations in due course.
