GECs
Bajoria on the Balaji trail?
MUMBAI: One of corporate India’s hungriest predators, Kolkata-based jute baron Arun Kumar Bajoria is reportedly on the trail again – and this time, he is believed to have set his sights on one of the biggest success stories in television – Balaji Telefilms.
Bajoria is reportedly consolidating his holding further in Balaji Telefilms. He had told news persons in September that he had picked up a near four per cent stake in the TV production house at Rs 66-68 purely as a strategic investment and would be looking to increase it if the share price went down by another Rs 10. Bajoria was not available for comment when contacted by indiantelevision.com.
However, according to senior industry sources, Balaji Telefilms had not received any intimation on the extent of Bajoria’s buying binge in the company, until late this afternoon.
Neither has the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) been informed about any market buying activity which may have resulted in the jute baron’s stake crossing the five per cent creeping acquisition limit.
The latest available shareholding pattern in the production house pegs the (Ekta) Kapoor family’s stake at 57.79 per cent. This means the possibility of a hostile takeover is remote. Institutional investors’ 12.83 per cent holdings in the company include foreign institutional investors’ (FIIs) stake of 9.36 per cent. While a tad less than 12 per cent is lying with the Indian public, private corporate bodies own 16.91 per cent stake in the company.
The Balaji Telefilms scrip closed today’s session with a gain of 6.6 per cent on the BSE after peaking at its intra day 52-week high of Rs 109.50 earlier in the day. Over 0.3 million shares to the tune of Rs 33.3 million have been traded on the counter on the BSE alone.
Meanwhile, Padmalaya Telefilms company secretary (in Hyderabad) Ram Kumar, told indiantelevision.com that media reports stating that Bajoria has also acquired a substantial stake in the Zee Group company are rumours and that the company has no information of Bajoria taking up a substantial stake.
Bajoria is known to surreptitiously takeover companies and had earned the title of ‘corporate raider’ three years ago when he had acquired a 15 per cent stake in Nusli Wadia’s Bombay Dyeing.
The good news for Balaji watchers is that ICICI Securities has issued a buy recommendation for the stock. Is the magic back at the Ekta Kapoor-Shobha Kapoor led production house? Observers believe the duo has ridden over the doubts that had crept out about the extent to which Balaji could sustain its programming on the top of the charts with channel partners such as Star and Sony.
GECs
Sebi sends show-cause notice to Zee over fund diversion, company responds
Regulator questions 2018 letter of comfort and governance lapses; company vows robust legal response
MUMBAI: India’s markets watchdog has reignited its long-running scrutiny of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, issuing a sweeping show-cause notice that drags the broadcaster and 84 others into a widening governance storm.
The notice, dated February 12, has been served by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to Zee, chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra and managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka, among others. At its heart: allegations that company funds were indirectly routed to settle liabilities of entities linked to the Essel Group.
The regulator’s probe traces its roots to November 2019, when two independent directors resigned from Zee’s board, flagging concerns over the alleged appropriation of fixed deposits by Yes Bank. The deposits were reportedly adjusted against loans extended to Essel Group entities, triggering questions about related-party dealings and board oversight.
A key flashpoint is a letter of comfort dated September 4, 2018, issued by Subhash Chandra in his dual capacity as chairman of Zee and the Essel Group. The document, linked to credit facilities availed by certain group companies from Yes Bank, was allegedly known only to select members of management and not disclosed to the full board—an omission SEBI believes raises red flags over transparency and governance controls.
Zee has pushed back hard. In a statement, the company said it “strongly refutes” the allegations against it and its board members and will file a detailed response. It expressed confidence that SEBI would conduct a fair review and signalled readiness to pursue all legal remedies to protect shareholder interests.
The notice marks the latest twist in a saga that has shadowed the broadcaster since 2019. What began as boardroom unease has morphed into a full-blown regulatory confrontation. The final reckoning now rests with SEBI—but the reputational stakes for Zee, and the message for India Inc on governance discipline, could scarcely be higher.
