Music and Youth
Radio Today in talks to dilute 20 per cent to foreign strategic investor
MUMBAI: Aroon Purie-promoted Radio Today Broadcasting is planning to dilute 20 per cent equity to a foreign strategic investor, following a template that other FM radio companies in India are keen to adopt.
Radio Today is in active talks with overseas media companies as it prepares to launch the FM stations in the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in March. The Living Media group company has won licenses paying a fee of Rs 280 million to operate in seven stations in the second phase of FM expansion after selling Red FM to a clutch of investors comprising infotech company Value Labs, Malaysia-based Astro and NDTV. Red FM was operating in the circles of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
“We feel we will discover the real value of our radio business by roping in a foreign strategic investor. We are ready to sell 20 per cent stake and are in discussions with a couple of companies for this,” says a source familiar with the deal. A maximum of 20 per cent foreign holding is allowed in radio companies in India.
Bertelsmann and CBS are among the foreign majors who have yet to make an entry into India. The source, however, declined to name the companies which are in talks with Radio Today.
TV Today Network Ltd, which owns a slew of channels including Aaj Tak and Headlines Today, has a 10 per cent stake in Radio Today. “There is no plan to up the stake. But with a 10 per cent holding, TV Today will capture the value when a partner is roped in for Radio Today which will get reflected in the scrip price,” the source says.
Foreign companies are showing interest to participate in India’s FM radio business that is set for rapid growth. Mid Day Multimedia sold stake to BBC Worldwide in its radio venture while Hindustan Times Media has tied up with Virgin. Star is awaiting FIPB (foreign investment promotion board) approval to acquire a 20 per cent stake in Music Broadcast ( the company which operates under the Radio City brand), marking a re-entry into the FM radio business. The US-based Balfour Capital LLC is also investing in Noble Broadcasting Corporation, the FM radio-arm of the Chennai based Kumudham Publications.
Investors are drawn in by the prospect of radio stations appealing to youth audiences and tapping local advertising. As reported first in Indiantelevision.com, IDBI picked up a 10 per cent stake in B.A.G Infotainment, the subsidiary of B.A.G Films which is engaged in the radio business.
MUMBAI: Mumbai is about to witness something it has never seen before. The Global Youth Festival arrives on 6-7 December at Jio World Garden with 15,000 attendees and 60-plus experiences sprawled across six sprawling arenas. On its sixth edition, this is no ordinary jamboree—it is a carefully orchestrated collision of wellness, adventure, arts, music, yoga and social change.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis will throw open the proceedings with a landmark ceremony, signalling the state’s backing for a movement that has already mobilised youth across 20-plus countries and 170-plus cities. The sheer scale is staggering: 500-plus volunteers powering the machine, 600,000-plus volunteer hours logged across previous editions, and millions of lives touched annually.
The speaker roster is formidable. Diipa Büller-Khosla and Dipali Goenka, chief executive of Welspun India, will share the stage with Malaika Arora in conversations spanning leadership, creativity and culture. Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Mansukhbhai Mandaviya will also attend, reinforcing GYF’s reach into the corridors of power.
But this is not mere talk. The Solaris Mainstage promises concerts from renowned Indian artists. Innerverse delivers a 360-degree LED spectacle of art, technology and sound. The Love and Care Arena houses hands-on projects spanning women’s empowerment, child education, rural upliftment and animal welfare. India’s largest outdoor sound-healing experience awaits. An inflatable obstacle course, neon drifter karts and open-sky bouldering cater to thrill-seekers.
Some have branded GYF the “Coachella of Consciousness.” Others call it “India’s Largest Sober Festival.” Spiritual visionary Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, who inspired the festival, will deliver the Wisdom Masterclass. Every rupee goes to charity.
After Mumbai comes Kolkata on 14 December. New York looms next year. For one weekend in December, Mumbai becomes the epicentre of youth-driven change—and nothing will be quite the same after.
Tickets available on BookMyShow. Visit youthfestival.srmd.org or follow @globalyouthfestival on Instagram.
