The Hindu Business Line : TV Today witnesses single block deal

COMING fast on the heels of an announcement allowing FII investment in TV news channels, the counter of TV Today Network witnessed a single block deal of around 45 lakh shares, representing almost 7.5 per cent of the company's equity, on the BSE on Tuesday. The seller and the buyer remained unconfirmed until late evening.

However given that it was a single block deal, the shareholding pattern as on June 30, 2004 indicates that funds that hold more than 40 lakh shares of the company are Venture Capital Funds and Templeton Mutual Fund. While Venture Capital holds around 49.92 lakh shares amounting to 8.61 per cent equity of the company, Templeton Mutual Fund under various schemes holds around 41.65 lakh shares amounting to 7.18 per cent of the company's equity.

A moot point to note is that the deal occurred around 2 pm, when the stock had been hammered down to an intra-day low of Rs 107.25. Thereafter, the counter recovered to end the day at Rs 114.45, up 6.37 per cent with around 52.85 lakh shares traded on the BSE and Rs 115.75, up 7.57 per cent with around 8.24 lakh shares traded on the NSE.

At end of trade, the total volumes on the BSE and NSE indicate that almost 10 per cent of the company's equity was traded today.

When contacted company officials refused to comment on the development.