Independent may sell stake in Jagran: Report

Independent News & Media, owner of British daily The Independent, may consider selling back its stake in Indian media giant Jagran Prakashan to repay its debts, the Sunday Times reported today.

“The Irish publisher, which owns The Independent in Britain, is understood to have held discussions with the founding family behind Dainik Jagran about selling back its stake in the Hindi-language Indian newspaper,” the report said, adding that “INM is selling assets to relieve its 1.3 billion pound debt burden”.

When contacted, Dainik Jagran Editor Sanjay Gupta said, “It is a wrong report, there is nothing as such.”

INM had acquired 21 per cent stake in Jagran Prakashan, which publishes Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, for ¤25.5 million (£22.5 million ) in 2004, the report said.