Professional Documents
Culture Documents
M&A
M&A
18
(2014- July)
M&A Mid Term Review
Context
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Mukesh Ambani Chairman and MD
Oil and gas; petroleum refining;
petrochemicals. Operates directly,
subsidiaries and joint ventures
(collectively referred to as the
Reliance Group)
Deal was beneficial to RJIL which
could access Network18 s digital
content
Network 18
The trigger
Sometime in early March, Sardesai had got a call from Ambani, who was livid.
TIMELINE
2006
2008
2011 Network 18s consolidated loans > INR 25 billion; while the overall revenues = INR 16
billion
2011, cash cow- news television business under pressure due to economic downturn ;
advertising revenue had dried up
Late 2011: CEO, network 18 : Haresh Chawla: reasoned with Bahl to raise money through
divesting a stake in entertainment business to Viacom 18. After Bahl refused, Chawla quit the
company.
2011
2012
January :Mukesh Ambani bails out Network 18, buying out Raos ETV
Access to exclusive content across segments for Reliance to foray into 4G services for
RJIL
201314
2013-14 - The financials of Network18 Group improved. The consolidated losses reduced
from INR 1050 million in 2012-13 to INR 367.7 million in 2013-14; restructuring ; layoffs and
selling unprofitable business
2014
28th may : Network 18 Chief Executive Officer B. Sai Kumar and Chief Operating Officer Ajay
Chacko put in their papers.
29th may : RIL buys network 18 in a ZOCD deal
Market Reaction
80
70
60
800
600
400
50
40
30
20
200
0
10
0
2012 - ZOCD
convertible within
10 years
Raised 4000 cr rights
issue
Repay Debt
Network 18
78%
TV 18
9%
Repay the
debt
Trust
2014 Converted
ZOCD and
acquired
majority
stake
RIL
Special
vehicle
NATURE OF THE
TRANSACTION
Independent Media
STRATEGIC FIT
Synergy between Network18 and
Reliances 4G play in the telecom business
through Reliance Jio Infocomm .They
needed a content factory of enormous
scale. It was a unique amalgamation at
the intersect of telecom, Web and digital
commerce via a suite of premier digital
properties.
To put it simply, with 100% control, RIL
now has access to all the content put out
by the Network18 Group. This includes
in.com, IBNlive.com, Moneycontrol.com,
Firstpost.com, Cricketnext,
bookmyshow.com and TV channels such
as Colors, CNBC TV18, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and
CNBC Awaaz
One such instance can be ofUS telco
firm AT&T buying Direct TV.
Reconstituted the
Board by replacing
with acquirer
nominees
DCPL was
removed as the
trustee of IMT
Issues in Merger
There were no issues raised by promoters of RBHPL
because
ZOCDs were not converted instead stake was bought from
Raghav and Ritu Bhal
It was considered a friendly takeover
Raghav and Ritu got out with cash instead of stake dilution if
ZOCDs were convereted
CCI concluded that it was unlikely that the proposed
combination would have any adverse effect on competition in
India
Stakeholder Reactions
CCI
The CCI started monitoring the
transactions right from the time
RIL subscribed to ZOCDs of
Holding Companies of Network
18. However the CCI concluded
that the proposed combination
would not have any adverse
effect on competition in the
industry
Consumers
Media consumers and other
media houses viewed the deal
with suspicion as they were of
the view that Reliance would be
able to influence media opinion
about its business practices and
deals as Network 18 was one of
the largest media conglomerates
in India with a reach across all
channels
Employees
There hadnt been any significant
disapproval from employees as
Raghav Bahl had already started
restructuring and laying off in
2011. It was unlikely that more
employees would be laid off as
the bottom line position pf the
group had significantly improved
Deal Structuring
Acquisition vehicle
Post-closing
organization
Legal form of
selling entity
Form of payment
Accounting
Considerations
Form of acquisition
Tax considerations
Deal Structuring
Acquisition vehicle
IMT was set up pursuant to
a trust deed dated
November 2, 2011 (Trust
Deed) for the purpose
of making investments.
RIL is the sole beneficiary
of IMT as per the Trust
Deed. RIIHL, a wholly
owned subsidiary of RIL,
was appointed as the
Protector2 of IMT
The board of trustees
administers and manages
the affairs of IMT in
accordance with the Trust
Deed. All decisions of the
board of trustees are taken
by way of majority vote of
the trustees. The
maximum number of
Form of payment
Open Offer:
22,99,46,996 equity shares
of Network18 at a price of
INR 41.04 per share,
aggregating to INR 9,437
million (USD 157.28 million);
44,65,10,110 equity shares
of TV18 at a price of INR
30.18 per share, aggregating
to INR 1,3475 million (USD
224.58 million);
Form of payment
Indirect Acquisition:
The consideration for the
acquisition of the Holding
Companies was
approximately INR 32.2
billion (USD 536 million),
attributable as follows:
Form of acquisition
Indirect acquisition:
By acquiring the Holding
Companies, the Acquirers
acquired 71.25% of the
Network18 Emerging Voting
Capital;
55.03% of the TV18
Emerging Voting Capital; and
47.60% of the Infomedia
Emerging Voting Capital.
Open Offer:
Open offer made by the
Acquirers to the public
shareholders of the Indirect
Targets to acquire as follows:
Network18: 21.95% of the
Network18 Emerging Voting
Capital;
TV18: 26% of the TV18
Emerging Voting Capital;
Infomedia: 26% of the
Deal Structuring
Legal Issues
Tax Considerations
Tax considerations
By virtue of acquisition of
the equity shares of the
Holding Companies, IMT
acquired control over
Network18, TV18 and
Infomedia. Accordingly, an
open offer had to be made
by IMT along with the PACs
for Network18, TV18 and
Infomedia.
Did investment in
ZOCDs require open
offer under the
Takeover Code?
ZOCDs do not fall under the ambit of shares under the Takeover Code, unlike the CA
2002
With respect to control, the trustee of IMT was DCPL, which was owned by Raghav and
Ritu and hence there was no change in control
Therefore the investment in ZOCDs in 2012 did not require an open offer under the
Takeover Code
To provide semblance that the transaction does not result in a change in control, RIL
decided to invest through a trust
The first trustee of IMT was DCPL controlled by Raghav and Ritu. This means that there
was no change in control happening and consequently the obligations under Takeover
Code would not be triggered
Also, the trust with Raghav as trustee would incentivize him to enter into the
transaction and also the trust would give an image of integrity of Network 18
remaining intact
Current
Situation
Intended objectives
Benefits
Bargaining Power of
Suppliers
Content providers play
a crucial role
Depending on the
content , the channel
gets viewership
Thank You