Sun TV tanks 16% after CBI raids Maran bros' premises

Maran family-owned broadcasting firm Sun TV tumbled by as much as 16% in early trade on the bourses today after CBI conducted raids on the premises of owner Kalanithi Maran and his brother, former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran.

CBI today conducted raids on the premises of the Maran brothers in Delhi and Chennai after registering a case against the former Telecom Minister in connection with the controversial Aircel-Maxis deal.

The agency has also booked Kalanithi Maran, Maxis owner T Ananda Krishnan, senior executive Ralph Marshall and three companies -- Aspro, Maxis and Sun TV -- in the case on charges of criminal conspiracy under the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.

Reacting to the news, the stock opened lower at Rs 251.50, then declined further to a low of Rs 235.05, down 10.09% vis-a-vis its previous close on the BSE.

A similar trend was seen on the National Stock Exchange, where after opening at Rs 254.40, the stock lost further ground and sunk to a low of Rs 221.20, down 15.86% from its last close.

The stock later recouped the losses and clawed back to its previous closing level on the bourses. At 1113 hours, the stock was trading at Rs 262.15, up 0.27% on the BSE, and at Rs 262.70, down 0.08% on the NSE.

The dip in the counter was significant, as the broader market was trading in the positive territory. The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex was trading over 207.96 points higher, while the wide-based Nifty was quoted over 46.65 points higher.

It has been alleged by former Aircel Chief C Sivasankaran that Dayanidhi Maran, as the then Telecom Minister, favoured the Maxis Group in the takeover of his company and in return, investments were made by the company through the Astro network in Sun TV, owned by the Maran family.

The CBI, in its recent status report to the Supreme Court, had said that during Maran's tenure there was "deliberate delay" to provide a letter of intent to Sivasankaran.