Magnates Line Up For Murdoch Swayamvar

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On Monday, a day before Star Group chairman and chief executive James
Murdoch was to land in India to finalise the majority Indian partner for
Star News, potential buyers and those close to the deal remained
close-lipped about the “winner”. Among them, ad man Suhel Seth, who holds
the maximum 30 per cent in Media Content & Communication Services (MCCS), a
shell company floated by Star for uplinking its news channel from India,
told FE that “it’s not a swayamvar”. Rather, Mr Seth looked at it as “an
investment decision, where all partners should be comfortable”.

Among the existing shareholders of MCCS, DSP Merrill Lynch chairman Hemendra
Kothari holds 25 per cent stake while actress Maya Alagh has 5 per cent and
lawyer Ryan Karanjewala 4 per cent. Ad man Suhel Seth has 30 per cent, after
picking up Kumar Mangalam Birla’s stake who withdrew soon after entering the
deal. Star News needs to conform to the revised uplinking guidelines by
September 28. As per these guidelines, Star News must get an Indian partner
with at least 51 per cent holding, to be able to continue uplinking from India.

Source:
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=41711