The promoters of Mid Day, the Ansari family, are weighing the option of offloading a majority stake in the holding company, Mid Day Multimedia, to fund an expansion to take the media house national.
Mid Day Multimedia is the holding company for the Mid Day group's media portfolio, which includes newspapers, a radio station, film production and outdoor advertising.
| Expansion plans |
| Mid Day wants to launch a TV channel, take its radio station, Go 92.5, to other cities, and take the Mid Day tabloid national
The group has approached two European publishing firms, the Times group, the ABP group and ICICI Ventures in this connection |
The group's merchant banker, DSP Merrill Lynch, has approached several media houses, including two European publishing companies, apart from domestic biggies like the Times group, the ABP group and ICICI Ventures, in this connection.
Sources close to the development told Business Standard that Bennett Coleman and Company, which publishes The Times of India and other newspapers and magazines, had written to Tariq Ansari, CEO of Mid Day Multimedia, offering to buy the family's 68 per cent plus stake in Mid Day Multimedia.
Bennett Coleman is understood to have offered over Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) to acquire control of the Mumbai-based media group, but does not seem to have received a concrete response. The market value of the promoters' stake in Mid Day is around Rs 58 crore (Rs 580 million).
When contacted, Ansari told Business Standard: "We have been approached by various media players, some of whom have expressed their interest in taking a majority stake. However, at this juncture, we are evaluating various options, and if we feel that it is in the best interests of the enterprise and shareholders, we will consider the option of offloading a majority stake."
Manajit Ghoshal, chief financial officer of Mid Day Multimedia, said: "We are looking to leverage the reach and experience of larger media players to take the newspaper to the national level. If we opt for selling a majority stake, it will include dilution of a substantial portion of the promoters' equity."
Ghoshal also indicated that a majority stake would be sold only if any bid received was in excess of Rs 70 per share, which is the initial public offer price.
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