News Broadcasting
Satyam divests stake in Sify for $ 62.62 million
MUMBAI: Satyam Computer Services Ltd has divested its existing holding of 11,182,600 equity shares of Rs 10 each in Sify Ltd., represented by ADS, to Infinity Capital Ventures LP, a firm controlled by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Raju Vegesna.
The sale was concluded at a price of $ 5.60 per ADSs. The ADSs are priced at a premium by about 7.5 per cent over one month’s daily average price as quoted on Nasdaq market, where Sify’s ADSs are listed and traded.
Consequent to this transaction, Satyam realised a gross consideration of about $ 62.62 million subject to transaction expenses and tax on capital gains.
DSP Merrill Lynch was the advisor to Satyam on the sale of ADSs, while ICICI Securities was the arranger to Sify’s sponsored ADS programme.
Satyam’s divestiture is in line with its stated objective to emerge as pure play IT services and solutions company. With the consummation of this transaction, Satyam has ceased to be a shareholder of Sify, a company that it formed in December 1995, as a strategy to foray into allied businesses and to create long term business and investment value.
As against its original investment of $ 5 million in Sify in 1995, Satyam has received a total gross consideration of about $117 million till date, making it a highly successful and value creating investment for Satyam’s shareholders.
Commenting on the transaction Satyam Computer Services Ltd chairman B Ramalinga Raju said, “The move would enable Satyam to further focus on its core business and unlock value of its investment. Leveraging Satyam’s brand and committed support, Sify has emerged as a strong player in the data and network space in India. I am sure that Sify’s management team will continue to scale up Sify’s growth with the active support of the new investor.”
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
