Reliance Industries in deal with TV18 Group?

MUMBAI: The market is speculating Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance Industries to invest in Network18 Group to fund the acquisition of regional television broadcaster ETV. The investment is likely to be made through a subsidiary.

The value of the ETV deal is pegged at around Rs 25 billion. Though TV18 and Network18 have proposed rights issue, the acquisition price of ETV is too high and needs external support.

When contacted, Network18 chief executive officer B Sai Kumar declined to comment on the issue. I Venkat, director on the Eenadu board, said he was not aware of the development.

A formal announcement is expected Tuesday.

Network18 and TV18 founder-promoter Raghav Bahl needs to reduce debt that remains high. The acquisition of ETV will help TV18 to increase its subscription revenues.

Shares of TV18 Broadcast rose 5.75 per cent on the BSE while Network18 was up 6.78 per cent.

RIL will be rolling out its broadband services later this year and needs exclusive content to pump through them.

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