RIL completes Network 18 takeover

Reliance Industries has become the promoter of Network 18 Media and Investments Limited (NW18) and TV18 Broadcast Limited (TV18). A media statement said RIL and Independent Media Trust have completed the acquisition of NW18 and TV18. The Mumbai-based company said Deepak Parekh (Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation) and Adil Zainulbhai (an independent director on the board of Reliance and senior adviser of McKinsey and Co) have been inducted as Independent Directors on the board of NW18. Founder Raghav Bahl will continue to be on the board as a non-executive director. In May, RIL said it would invest about ₹4,000 crore through Independent Media Trust, of which RIL is the sole beneficiary, to acquire 78 per cent stake in NW18 and about 9 per cent stake in TV18. This follows a similar agreement entered in 2012, when it inked an investment deal with Network18. The acquisition comes even as RIL’s telecom services unit Reliance Jio Infocomm gears up for the rollout of 4G telephony services.