India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has rejected a proposal for the private equity firm Saif III Mauritius Company to acquire a 14.5% stake in the broadcaster Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd (ABCL), according to media reports.
In a…
India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has rejected a proposal for the private equity firm Saif III Mauritius Company to acquire a 14.5% stake in the broadcaster Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd (ABCL), according to media reports.
In a report on Tuesday, the IndianTelevision.com website cited a source who said that Saif, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Softbank Corp, was looking to acquire the stake in a deal worth around Rs 510m (US$11m).
The FIPB confirmed to SatelliteFinance that the deal had not been accepted.
An FIPB source said that it was in the process of explaining the reasoning for the decision to the applicant, and therefore would not reveal any further details.
SatelliteFinance has also seen an FIPB document detailing the proposals it considered in a meeting on December 3.
Under the header of rejected proposals, there is an entry for a deal in which ABCL is the applicant. The entry explains that it was a “merger proposal to issue and allot compulsory preference shares on the date of completion of the merger”. The entry does not specify the other party in the merger.
Saif could not be contacted and Softbank Corp did not reply to enquiries.
ABCL runs several news channels in India.
In the IndianTelevision.com report, a source in Saif says that the acquisition of the stake was part of a broader investment strategy to buy up broadcasting outfits. It would be the precursor to an IPO or a private placement as the company pursued its expansion plans, the source continues.
The report claims that ABCL had sought a merger with a company controlled by Saif. ABCL has now reportedly filed a revised proposal to the FIPB.
Other investors in ABCL include the electronics and software company Unified Group, as well as the journalist Ravi Prakash.
According to the report’s source, Saif had recently taken control of iVision Media India for around Rs 510m (US$11m). ABCL had later taken a loan of Rs 510m from iVision, with the condition that it returns the amount to Saif through cash or shares.