NDTV has denied reports that SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh has taken over the media company.
A report in The Indian Express said Singh, who played a role in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) 2014 poll campaign, had bought a majority holding in the news channel. “Yes, the deal has been finalized and Ajay Singh will take control of NDTV along with editorial rights,” a source said.
However, The Hindu reported that NDTV had denied reports of Singh taking a majority holding. A senior NDTV official said, “Not even a single sentence of these reports is true.”
SpiceJet officials have also denied the change of hands, calling the report “false and baseless.”
The Indian Express report further claimed that a source said Ajay Singh will have a controlling stake in NDTV of around 40% and the promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy will hold around 20%.
Singh reportedly played a role in the BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha campaign as a member of the core advertising/campaigning team.
Reports also said that NDTV founders Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy and promoter RRPR Holding Pvt were being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly concealing a share transaction conducted in 2008.
On June 5, CBI raids targeted residences of the Roys, which NDTV called a “blatant attack on the freedom of the press.”