Hindustan Times vice chairperson Shobhana Bhartiya on Tuesday held an hour-long meeting with Finance Secretary D C Gupta amid reports that Hindustan Times was in advanced negotiations with Star India for picking up a 51 per cent stake in its news broadcasting company.
Information and Broadcasting ministry sources said one of the options Star was exploring was to form a joint venture with Hindustan Times, to be called Hindustan Times Media Private Ltd, where it would pick up 26 per cent equity.
Star's equity in the company will be routed through an investment vehicle managed by a global investment banker.
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The ministry was not happy with the original model, where a host of Indians were offered smaller equity stakes in Star's uplinking company.
Bhartiya could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.
Her office told Business Standard that she was busy in a meeting.
Finance ministry officials declined to give details of the meeting between the finance secretary and Bhartiya. But they said the Foreign Investment Promotion Board had deferred a decision on Star's application in its meeting last month.
"We are waiting for an advice from the information and broadcasting ministry. The board will consider the application only after the views of the ministry are communicated," said an official.
Star's plans to launch the news channel ran into trouble with the information and broadcasting ministry raising objections, citing non-compliance with the news channel uplinking rules in its true sprit.
As per the news channel uplinking policy, the uplinking company should have 74 per cent Indian equity with editorial and management control.
Star India set up Media Content and Communication Services in June this year to meet the news channel regulations.
The present Indian shareholders of MCCS are advertising professional Suhel Seth ,who owns 30 per cent, Merrill Lynch vice chairman Hemendra Kothari with a 25 per cent stake, HT editor Vir Sanghvi (5 per cent), lawyer Raian Karanjiwala (4 per cent), television personality Maya Alagh (5 per cent) and actor Jeetendra Kapoor with a 5 per cent stake.
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