The open offer by billionaire Gautam Adani’s Adani Group to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in news broadcaster New Delhi Television from the market will begin on Tuesday, November 22.

The offer, which has a price band of Rs 294 per share, will open on November 22 and close on December 5, according to a notice issued by JM Financial, the firm managing the offer on behalf of Adani Group firms. Adani’s previous timeline for the open offer was 17 October to 1 November.

According to reports, NDTV’s promoters, Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy, may not file a legal challenge to Adani Group’s open offer for additional shares in the company.

Earlier that day, on November 7, capital markets regulator Sebi approved the proposed Rs 492.81-crore open offer.

The conglomerate, led by India’s richest man Gautam Adani, acquired a little-known firm in August that lent more than Rs 400 crore to NDTV’s founders more than a decade ago in exchange for warrants allowing the company to acquire a 29.18 percent stake in the media firm at any time.

Following that, VCPL, the firm purchased by the Adani group, announced on October 17 that it would launch an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent stake in NDTV from minority shareholders. However, the offer was delayed because the market regulator had not approved the open offer.

VCPL, AMG Media Networks, and Adani Enterprises proposed acquiring an additional 26%, or 1.67 crore equity shares, at a price of Rs 294 per share.

If fully subscribed, the open offer will raise Rs 492.81 crore at Rs 294 per share.

The promoters of NDTV had challenged the open offer and the acquisition of VCPL stake, claiming that the deal could not proceed without the approval of Sebi as well as the Income Tax Department.

However, the Adani Group has denied claims that the stake sale would require tax clearance.

The NDTV promoters also claimed that they were completely unaware of the takeover and that it was carried out without their consent.

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