Aditya Birla invests in TV Today’s parent firm

Rebecca Hawkes ©RapidTVNews | 20-05-2012


India's Aditya Birla Group has aquired a 27.5% stake in Living Media India, the holding company which owns 57.46% of the TV Today Network.

"The media sector is a sunrise sector from an investment point of view. I believe that Living Media India offers one of the best opportunities for growth and value creation," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group.

In addition to controlling the TV Today Network channels Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Tez and Delhi Aaj Tak, Living Media publishes a raft of popular magazines including India Today.

Aroon Purie, chairman of the India Today Group, said: "I am delighted to partner with the Aditya Birla Group to aggressively address the current and future potential of the Indian media business, which is at a tipping point. The Aditya Birla Group with its strong leadership, global footprint, diversified business interests and its shared values of integrity, commitment and social responsibility is a perfect fit with the India Today Group."

Industry sources value Living Media at somewhere between INR 13 billion and INR 14 billion.

The broadcasting and publishing sectors are both new to Aditya Birla, although it has previously had some entertainment experience with the now defunct film software production company Applause Entertainment.

The announcement follows the investment five months ago by fellow corporate industrial house Reliance Industries investing in the Network18 Group by way of a multi-layered deal.