India's largest diversified media conglomerate Bennett, Coleman and Co Ltd (BCCL), popularly known as the Times Group, has joined the race to pick up a majority stake in the two sports channels of Nimbus Communications.
US-based Internet search engine, Yahoo!, is in talks to acquire a minority stake in Indiatimes, the online business of Bennett & Coleman, publisher of English dailiesTimes of India and Economic Times.
In spite of the criticism that Bennett, Coleman's Private Treaties division, which swaps advertising space in its newspapers for minor equity in small and medium enterprises, attracts, these print media companies are gearing up to launch their versions of the department.
The high court noted in its order that Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd, which has filed a suit against Goswami or ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, which owns Republic TV, has submitted that the journalist is free to use the same as part of his speech/presentation of any news channel.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has stayed the ban imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Samir Jain, vice-chairman and managing director of Bennett, Coleman & Co (BCCL), his wife Meera Jain, and six others. BCCL owns news media organisations The Times of India, and The Economic Times. Last month, the regulator had refrained Jain from accessing the securities market for allegedly violating minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms in PNB Finance and Industries (PNBFIL) and Camac Commercial Company (CCIL), which are listed on the Calcutta Stock Exchange.
Monday's notices seek damages of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) each from The Times of India and The Economic Times, both owned by Bennett, Coleman & Co, and The Financial Express, owned by the Indian Express group, alleging some of their articles defamed Infosys.
Even as the MCX Stock Exchange and the Delhi Stock Exchange are hoping to launch equity trading on their platform soon, another Mumbai-based exchange, the Inter-connected Stock Exchange is set to follow suit.
Confrontational advertising has become the order of the day in India with corporate houses taking on rivals head-on.
Two Indian women including Savitri Jindal and Indu Jain have been named among the list of world's top billionaires compiled by the US magazine Forbes.
The tie-up or the business co-operation agreement will straddle three important areas - advertising sales, distribution and printing facilities.
It has been known for long that The Times Group (Bennett, Coleman and Company) is the largest. While the News Corporation-owned Star Group briefly lay claim to number two spot, it is now clear that Subhash Chandra's Zee is way ahead of its former partner and now arch rival. At Rs 3,732 crore, the Zee Group is India's second-largest media firm.
Corporate houses getting into music retail are turning the outlets into multi-product stores that will offer apparel and even perfumes.
Consumer durables major Videocon Industries has acquired Planet M, the music and entertainment retail arm of media house Bennett, Coleman & Co, for Rs 200 crore. The acquisition has been done by NEXT, Videocon's retail chain for consumer electronics and home appliances. Videocon Chairman V N Dhoot said Planet M, which has a huge brand equity, fits in well with the group's retail ambitions. Dhoot said the group plans an over six-fold increase in Planet M's turnover.
Religare, a Ranbaxy group company providing financial services, has joined hands with Dutch insurer Aegon to set up life insurance and asset management venture in the country.
India's Times group and British Broadcasting Corporation Worldwide have signed an agreement for setting up a 50:50 joint venture to publish magazines in India.
Ahead of the International Women's Day, three Indian women have powered their way to the Forbes list of global billionaires. The three Indian women include Savitri Jindal having a net worth of $8.2 billion, Bennett, Coleman & Co's chairperson Indu Jain at $4.4 billion and Anu Aga of the Thermax group with a net worth of $1.1 billion.
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