Times Group owners initiate talks with financiers as firm's partition looms

The funding lines being discussed will be backed by the group's assets and its cash flows, according to the report

By Anto Antony

Samir Jain and Vineet Jain, who together control one of the largest media conglomerates in India, have initiated talks with financiers to fund a partition of the Times Group, according to people familiar with the matter.

The brothers have been working on carving out the sprawling group that controls Bennett Coleman & Co., which runs the nation’s top newspaper The Times of India, and financial daily The Economic Times, between them in a mediated partition over the past year, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. 

The funds raised will be used by the brother who gets the news paper publishing business, the largest by revenue, to pay the other after accounting for other assets received, they said.

Revenues in India’s media and entertainment sector are set to touch Rs 2.3 trillion ($28 billion) next year with television, digital channels, and print expected to be the biggest contributors, data compiled by Ernst & Young shows. The Times Group has a significant presence in the three segments and it also holds stakes in companies operating in sectors ranging from real estate to e-commerce.

The funding lines being discussed will be backed by the group’s assets and its cash flows, according to the people. After the division, the brothers may consider bringing in financial investors into their units, they said.

Samir Jain, Vineet Jain and representatives for the group didn’t respond to emails and text messages seeking comments about the partition and financing talks.

Conversations about the split are still progressing and no final decision has been taken about which assets will go to each brother, they said. The Morning Context had reported the partition plans earlier. Privately-held Bennett Coleman also owns television channels, including Times Now and ET Now.