India’s New Delhi Television Ltd said on Friday that its founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy have resigned as directors after billionaire Gautam Adani‘s conglomerate took majority control of the media company.
Along with the Roys, four other independent directors have also resigned with effect from December 30, NDTV said in a statement. Adani Enterprises Ltd, through subsidiaries RRPR Holding and Vishvapradhan Commercial, now owns 64.72% of NDTV, which operates three national channels.
According to the statement, the Roys will continue to hold a 2.5% stake each in NDTV. “I am resigning due to a change in the ownership of the company. There are no other material reasons for my resignation,” said Prannoy Roy, one of India’s best-known journalists, in his letter to the company resigning as executive co-chairman.
The acquisition of NDTV by Gautam Adani, the world’s third-richest person, will pit him directly against Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, who has also expanded his media empire.
Adani said “The Adani Group is honored to further strengthen NDTV with world-class infrastructure and talent and transform NDTV into a thriving multi-platform global news organization,” in a separate statement. The Adani Group would “strengthen and invest in the newsroom of NDTV to become a multi-faceted multimedia digital platform”.
