GECs
Balaji board to meet on merger with HFCL Nine tomorrow
Balaji Telefilms has called a meeting tomorrow of its board of directors on the future of its strategic tie-up with HFCL Nine Broadcasting.
Balaji, in a notice to the National Stock Exchange last week and the Bombay Stock Exchange yesterday, said the meeting was being convened to consider a review of the proposed merger of Nine Network Entertainment India with the company.
HFCL (Himachal Futuristic Communication Ltd) Nine Broadcasting is a 51:49 per cent holding company held by Vinay Maloo and Australian media magnate Kerry Packer. HFCL Nine was to take a 20 per cent stake in Balaji Telefilms.
Balaji’s decision has been influenced by the “K factor” and the uncertainties surrounding HFCL Nine’s three-hour prime time slot on DD Metro. Balaji creative director Ekta Kapoor’s strong belief in the letter K as a good luck talisman for all Balaji projects somehow doesn’t seem to extend to HFCL, one of the currently infamous K-10 scrips. These were the scrips favoured by cornered bull operator Ketan Parekh. It is another matter that Parekh’s investment firms have a 4.5 per cent stake in Balaji.
Parekh is in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation but that doesn’t seem to have prevented the HFCL scrip witnessing an abnormal upsurge in the last few days.
HFCL Nine paid Rs 1,210 million last year for a three hour prime time slot on DD Metro. It has been lobbying for a long-term contract for its DD Metro slot ranging between five and 10 years with a revenue-sharing clause. This hasn’t been accepted and instead HFCL Nine has been offered the option of extending its contract by six months, ending March 2002 or by another 18 months, up to March 2003.
The matter is at a stalemate at present and the uncertainty surrounding the deal has only added to the doubts within Balaji about the merger.
The deal between the two parties, announced last November, involved a swap ratio where 65 shares of Balaji would be swapped for 200 shares of HFCL Nine.
Balaji Telefilms was to acquire Nine Entertainment India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nine Broadcasting India, for Rs 340 million. Post-acquisition, HFCL Nine was to hold 20 per cent equity in Balaji Telefilms.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
