Bahl and Bloomberg also launch a Hindi business news channel

[Thakur]

Raghav Bahl will soon begin his second innings as a TV news media owner.

After selling the media empire that he created to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries due to a biting debt, he is back again to launch an English business news channel with New York-based Bloomberg LP as a partner.

Bahl will own 74% stake in the venture while Bloomberg will hold the balance 26%, a source confirmed.

Why didn’t Bloomberg decide to own 49% stake? “That will be the shareholding to start with,” the source said. He ruled out the possibility of a third investor in the venture. As reported earlier by TelevisionPost.com, the first to roll out will be the content on the digital platform.

The television channel will launch subsequently, after licence is obtained from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB). The venture will have an initial investment of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion).

An official announcement is expected soon, added the source.

Will Bahl and Bloomberg also launch a Hindi business news channel? “No, we are not looking at launching a channel in the Hindi genre,” the source said.

CNBC TV18 executive editor Menaka Doshi has been roped in as managing editor. She is currently serving her notice period, the source said.

CNBC TV18 chief executive Anil Uniyal will also join Bahl’s venture.

In January, Bloomberg and Anil Ambani-controlled Business Broadcast News had announced the end to their seven-year-old partnership.

They ran the business news channel Bloomberg TV. Bahl’s company Quintillion Media runs thequint.com, a news website.

Read more at: 


Raghav Bahl to own 74% in JV with Bloomberg | TelevisionPost.com

 

[Thakur]

Media tycoon, Raghav Bahl has entered into a joint venture with Bloomberg LP, to launch a new news channel in India and a website to accompany it.
As a part of the deal, Bahl will have 74% stake in the company, while Bloomberg LP will hold the remaining 26%. LiveMint reports that Raghav Bahl and Michael Bloomberg, will together invest Rs.100 crore in the venture. The agreement is for a 10-year period.
A source told LiveMint, “The term sheets have been signed; the final deal will be closed later this week. The initial investment of Rs.100 crore should be enough for a successful launch but in case more capital is required we will do the needful.”
An announcement on the new channel is expected later this month, which is expected to adopt the Bloomberg brand and Bahl’s company name Quintillion Media Pvt. Ltd.
This will be Bahl’s first broadcast venture since leaving Reliance Industries in May 2014.
- See more at: Raghav Bahl & Bloomberg to launch news channel | BizAsia Media | The UK's only Asian media news site