Bennett Coleman to merge five subsidiaries with self as part of recast

Times Internet and Global Broadcasting are not part of restructuring exercise; firm had 26 subsidiaries on March 2021, according to its filings with govt

India's largest print media company, Bennett Coleman & Co, is merging five of its subsidiaries with itself as part of its plan to clean up the company's structure, in accordance with a National Company Law Tribunal order. The NCLT cleared the merger on May 4, effective April 2021.

The publisher of the Times of India newspaper said it is merging its subsidiaries, Mind Games Shows Pvt (MGSPL), Ananta Properties Pvt (APPL), Amrita Estates Pvt (AEPL), Times Digital (TDL) Times Journal (TJIL) and Vinabella Media and Entertainment Pvt (VMEPL) with itself. The company had 26 subsidiaries on March 2021, according to its filings with the government.

BCCL's digital news arms, Times Internet and Global Broadcasting, which operates a slew of news channels, are not part of the restructuring exercise.

In court filings, BCCL said the merger would lead to consolidation of businesses of the group, reduction in the number of companies and regulatory compliances, streamlining the holding structure, ease of management, integration and efficiency of operations, economies of scale and financial position reduction of expenses, and optimal utilisation of resources, and reduction in multiplicity of legal/regulatory compliances. The merger would also provide greater financial strength and flexibility to the merged entity, the company said.

BCCL did not reply to  emailed queries sent by this paper on Thursday.

On allegations made by Subramanian Swamy, former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, against the company, the NCLT order quoted the firm saying the complaint is neither against the transferee company and nor related to the operations.

The company further clarified that there is no complaint pending against any of the entities which are party to the proposed merger and none of the shareholders of these companies in these proceedings have lodged any complaint/grievance with the ROC, Mumbai.

It said none of the  companies are a party or have been named in the complaint and the allegations are related to other entities having no bearing on the proposed merger.

Early this month, Bloomberg reported that Samir Jain and Vineet Jain, who jointly control BCCL, have initiated talks with financiers to fund a partition of the  group. The report, quoting unnamed sources, said the brothers have been working on carving out the sprawling group between them in a mediated partition over the past year. BCCL did not comment to Bloomberg.