NDTV locked in 5% upper circuit for 5th session amid Adani takeover

Shares of New Delhi Television (NDTV) continued their gaining streak for the sixth straight session on Thursday, with the share price hitting upper circuit for five successive sessions after being taken over by billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani group. NDTV share price has surged 28% in the last five trading days as compared to a 2% rise in the BSE benchmark Sensex during this period.

Extending its gaining momentum, NDTV shares opened higher and got locked in the upper circuit with a gain of 4.99% at ₹470.05 over its previous closing price of 447.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).  

In comparison, the 30-share Sensex was trading 265 points, or 0.42%, higher at 63,364 levels, tracking firm cues from global peers and continuous foreign fund inflows. The top five gainers on the BSE Sensex pack were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Technologies, which rose up to 3%.

The NDTV stock has had a strong run on the domestic bourses and turned into multibagger in the last one year, zooming 520% to ₹470.05 intraday today, from its 52-week low of ₹75.55 on December 1. With a market cap of ₹3,030 crore, the smallcap stock has risen nearly 162% in the past six months and 47% in a month. In the calendar year, the stock has delivered more than 300% returns to its shareholders, while the BSE Sensex gained 7% during the same period.

The stock hit an all-time high of ₹567.85 on September 6, 2022, after Adani Group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises acquired about 29.18% stake in the media broadcaster company. Besides, the Adani Group has also launched an open offer to acquire an additional 26% stake in NDTV at a price ₹294 per share, which will close on December 5.

On Wednesday, NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy  resigned as directors on the board of the promoter's holding company, RRPR Holding Private Ltd. The board of RRPR Holding has also approved the appointment of Sudipta Bhattacharya, the chief technology officer of Adani group; Sanjay Pugalia, CEO of Adani's AMG Media Network; and journalist Senthil Sinniah Chengalvarayan as Directors on its board.

NDTV, which operates three national news channels namely NDTV 24x7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit, recorded a revenue of ₹421 crore with an EBITDA of ₹123 crore and net profit of ₹85 crore in FY22.

Earlier this year, the Adani group announced entry into the media business by acquiring a 49% stake in digital news outlet Quintillion Business Media Pvt. Ltd., the publisher of business news website BQPrime, through its subsidiary, AMG Media Networks.

The port-to-energy conglomerate has a total market capitalisation of over ₹22 lakh crore, which includes seven publicly listed companies. Established in 1988 as a commodity trading business by Gautam Adani, the group has expanded rapidly across key business verticals such as energy, utilities, and transportation by listing seven entities, namely Adani Enterprises (AEL), Adani Green Energy (AGEL), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission, and Adani Wilmar.