Media and entertainment giant Essel Group has bought a majority stake in in non-profit news agency United News of India (UNI), the Daily News and Analysis (DNA) has reported.
The group, promoted by Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra, has negotiated a deal through Mediawest, an investment vehicle, following which it will hold around 60 per cent of UNI, but group officials refused to comment on the figure, DNA said. UNI general manager MK Laul could not be reached for comment despite several attempts.
Confirming the development, Essel Group senior vice-president Ashish Kaul told indiantelevision.com, "We are on the board of UNI now as a shareholder, but the quantum of the holding cannot be disclosed at this point of time." Kaul also clarified that Zee Telefilms, also an Essel Group enterprise, has nothing to do with the UNI deal.
UNI is incorporated as a trust and only a newspaper company can become a member of the board. Its shareholders include major newspaper groups. Being a trust, it runs as a not-for-profit organisation with all profits ploughed back in to the agency.
United News of India (UNI) was launched in 1961, and its wire service is available in three languages – English, Hindi and Urdu – serving more than 1,000 subscribers in more than 100 locations in India and abroad. Subscribers include newspapers, radio and television networks, websites, government offices, and private and public sector companies. UNI has bureaux in all major cities and towns of India. It has over 300 full-fledged journalists and over 250 stringers across the country.
According to an Essel Group spokesperson, the deal with UNI is expected to add value to DNA. Access to a functional newswire like UNI is being seen as an asset for the group. Chandra, who may join the UNI board soon, declined to say much beyond confirming his interest in UNI. The "acquisition" will not be of the conventional type, since UNI is run by a trust comprising publication houses.
The Essel and Dainik Bhaskar groups jointly own Daily News & Analysis (DNA). Besides Essel, other media houses are shareholders on the UNI board. These include the Times of India, Hindustan Times, the Hindu, and Ananda Bazar Patrika.
Since the Essel Group also runs DNA, it is keen to be on the UNI board. "You don't always do things for money," Chandra said. With UNI trailing the Press Trust of India (PTI), "we would like to help UNI regain its lost position". Chandra told DNA that he would like to give UNI a global profile.
Asked whether the UNI investment would bring synergies with the Essel Group's other media interests in television and print, Chandra said, "I am not looking at synergy. I want to exploit our group's relationships in the international arena and tie up with media companies across the globe." He added, "I don't emulate anybody, I like to create my own unique organisation."
The Essel Group is expected to conduct due diligence of UNI "to bring it to an international level," a company executive told DNA. There has been no decision yet on issues such as UNI's assets and liabilities. In the recent past, there has been talk of renovating the UNI building in New Delhi. But a resource crunch has been the hurdle.
The Financial Express quoted sources as saying that Essel was interested in UNI's prime property spread over 2,000 sq m in the heart of the capital and in other major metros. "Essel is interested in offering a voluntary retirement scheme to 600-700 employees. But it can not do that unless it is the majority shareholder," sources told the Express. "It will be a daunting task for any investor to convert a not-for-profit Trust into a company," an industry source was quoted as saying.
UNI has collaboration agreements with several foreign news agencies, including Reuters and Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) , whose stories it distributes to media organisations in India. UNI also has news exchange agreements with Xinhua of China, UNB of Bangladesh, Gulf News Agency of Bahrain, WAM of the United Arab Emirates, KUNA of Kuwait News Agency, ONA of Oman and QNA of Qatar.
