|
| Mahuaa TV digs a hole in banks' books with Rs 700-cr bad loan |
| Manojit Saha & Varada Bhat / Mumbai Feb 13, 2012, 00:29 IST |
|
 The Mahuaa story is turning out to be a nightmare for banks. Their exposure to the Rs 450-crore Century Communication, the media firm that launched the country’s first Bhojpuri news and entertainment channel under the brand name Mahuaa, has become a non-performing asset.
A consortium of seven to eight banks, including Indian Overseas Bank, Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, have an exposure to Century and its associate companies to the tune of Rs 1,700-1,800 crore. Of this, Rs 600-700 crore has turned bad. Apart from Century, other group companies in which banks have exposure are Mahuaa TV and Pearl Media.
Some of the banks such as Indian Overseas Bank have restructured the asset to avoid the loan slipping into NPA (non-performing asset) category. Restructuring also leads to higher provisioning.
The standard asset provisioning requirement for a restructured account is two per cent, as compared to 0.4 per cent for loans not restructured. In addition, a bank has to provide for the sacrifice it makes while recasting the debt, in terms of a lower interest rate and increase in the repayment tenure, which reduces the net present value (NPV).
The media house had asked all the banks to recast its debt but was unable to make interest payments to some banks, as a result of which lenders like Union Bank of India and Punjab National Bank made it an NPA. Banks need to make 15-20 per cent provisioning, depending on whether the loan is secured or unsecured, in the first year after the loan turns into an NPA.
The banks are also planning to approach the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell. An account can be admitted to the CDR process if either the lenders with 75 per cent of loan exposure or 60 per cent of the lenders agree.
Century Communication, promoted by P K Tewari, has interests in post-production, broadcasting and media buying. It owns one of the largest post-production facilities, Pixion, which has done work for studios like Disney. In 2008, it acquired two London-based studios, Molinare and Men-from-Mars. Later, Tewari, the chairman and managing director of the company, along with his son set up Pearl Media, the airtime seller on all of Sun Network’s channels.
Tewari also produced award-winning film New Delhi Times, starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore, released in 1986. The film is about a newspaper editor who exposes the unholy nexus between politics and the media.
P K Tewari and Yashwant Rana, Group Editor of Mahuaa TV, did not respond to Business Standard’s email queries.
In 2008, the channel diversified into broadcasting and launched two Bhojpuri channels, Mahuaa and Mahuaa News. The bouquet expanded to four with Mahuaa Bangla and Mahuaa Khobor (a 24-hour Bengali news channel). Unlike other GECs (general entertainment channels), these offer a wide variety of programmes, including popular shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Last month, Mahuaa Bangla shut its operations and the broadcaster started a new channel called Mahuaa Newsline, targeted at the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand region.
According to TAM Media Research data, from December 25, 2011 to January 21, 2012, Mahuaa TV had 100 per cent market share in the Bhojpuri GEC segment. Before it shut down, Mahuaa Bangla had market share of 0.4 per cent, with Zee Bangla and Star Jalsa leading the pack with 38.3 and 39.3 per cent, respectively. In the 24-hour Bengali news genre, Mahuaa Bangla ranks fifth, with 3.1 per cent share. The segment is led by Kolkata TV (24.7 per cent), followed by 24 Ghanta (24.6 per cent), News Time Bangla (23.1 per cent) and Star Ananda (23.6 per cent).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
