Raghav Bahl bids adieu to Network18

The exit was anticipated after RIL acquired control of Network18 in a Rs 4,000 crore deal

Raghav Bahl, founder and editor of Network18, has communicated to his team that he and his wife, Ritu Kapur, have ended their entrepreneurial leadership at the company.

This follows two days of rapid developments involving the exit of three senior executives at Network18 and news of the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)-owned Independent Media Trust (IMT) acquiring the media network.

In a short but comprehensive farewell mail to his team, Bahl said, “There are thousands of teammates, past and present, whose collective tejasvi karma has buoyed Network18 to where it is today. Our heartfelt gratitude towards all of them! (We would like to make a special mention of our very own Vandana, who was the first manager-cum-driver-cum-lights man of TV18 in the early 90s).”

He also welcomed Mukesh Ambani and RIL as “potential owners of Network18” and assured his former colleagues the group was in good hands. “Ambani is a visionary and a truly good human being. And, we have no doubt Network18 will soar into the ‘cloud’ under this dispensation. All of you have very good cause to be excited and optimistic about the future,” he said.

Bahl’s exit from the group effectively leaves the Network18 top management void.

On Tuesday, group chief executive B Sai Kumar tendered his resignation; that evening, group chief operating officer Ajay Chacko, too, quit.

On Wednesday, group chief financial officer Raman Deep Singh Bawa put in his papers.

Last week, Times Television Network's Avinash Kaul was appointed chief executive of the IBN18 group of channels (CNN-IBN and IBN7). Former Zee Media chief executive Alok Agarwal might be brought in to lead the Network18 news business, though no confirmation on this was provided by the company.

The editorial team at CNBC-TV18 has quashed rumours of an exodus. Asked if she or her team planned to leave the channel, Managing Editor Shereen Bhan replied, "Not true". She added the network's management hadn't yet communicated who would replace the executives who had stepped down in the past week.

Late on Thursday night, Network18 and TV18 notified BSE of an open offer initiated by IMT. According to the document, the offer price of Rs 41.04 a share was calculated in accordance with Regulation 8(2) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SAST) Regulations.

Bahl and his wife held stake in Network18 through holding companies, which have now been acquired by IMT, by conversion of optionally convertible debentures worth Rs 1,700 crore into equity. Following the transaction, the couple's shareholding was reduced from 71.25 per cent to nil.