MAM
‘Deccan Chronicle’ IPO to open on 25 Nov with 8m shares
NEW DELHI: Media company Deccan Chronicle’s initial public offer is set to open on 25 November with the price of share price being in the band of Rs 162 – Rs 194 per share. This IPO marks the first time in India that a mainline broadsheet newspaper will be publicly owned.
The IPO, comprising 8.01 million shares, closes on 2 December, 2004, according to an announcement made by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, publishers of Andhra Pradesh based newspaper Deccan Chronicle.
The Red Herring Prospectus, dated 8 November has been filed with the Registrar of Companies, Andhra Pradesh. While the final price of the shares will be determined through the book-building route, the company expects to net between Rs 1.3 billion and Rs 1.55 billion.
ICICI Securities Limited have been appointed as the book running lead managers to the issue.
In order to operate a post issue price stabilisation, the issue will have a green shoe option of 1,201,960 equity shares and ICICI Securities Limited have been appointed as the stabilisation agent in this regard.
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited is one of the leading newspaper publishing companies in India and claims to be market leaders in the state of Andhra Pradesh with its flagship brand, Deccan Chronicle.
The capital raised by the IPO will be used for financing new printing facilities and for venturing into new territories and future strategic initiatives and acquisitions. The company has announced that it will be launching Deccan Chronicle in Tamil Nadu shortly.
The issue will constitute approximately 20 per cent of the fully diluted post offer paid-up capital assuming that the green shoe option is not exercised, and approximately 22 per cent assuming that the option is exercised in full.
An official statement from Deccan Chronicle quoted company executive director (finance) P K Iyer as saying, “Deccan Chronicle is a leading news brand and we intend to leverage our competitive strengths in other markets. Tamil Nadu will be our first destination for leveraging the Deccan Chronicle beyond Andhra Pradesh and we will be continually looking at new markets and opportunities.”
According to Iyer, the global newspaper industry is characterised by an increased level of consolidation and the belief is that this is what will happen in the Indian newspaper industry also. “The IPO, therefore, is our chosen route of funding expansion, acquisition and modernisation for the group,” he added.
During the current year, the company has set-up a modern print facility at Kodapur (Hyderabad), which increases the group’s ability to print colour pages from four per copy to 16 pages per copy. Deccan Chronicle is circulated in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh with seven editions printed from Vijayawada, Rajmundry, Vizag, Anantapur, Karimnagar and Nellore. The group has successfully withstood competition from most of the leading English newspapers in India and continues to be No. 1 in Andhra Pradesh.
Deccan Chronicle also publishes Andhra Bhoomi in Telugu (daily, weekly and monthly) and several supplements like Hyderabad Chronicle, Vizag Chronicle, Teen Chronicle and Coastal Chronicle, targeted at niche readers.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
