STAR India which is a unit of 21st Century Fox, has acquired the entire broadcast business of MAA Television Network Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
Sources told Business Standard the deal size could be about Rs 2,500 crore.
MAA TV has four Telugu entertainment channels — MAA Gold, MAA Music, MAA Cinema and MAA General Entertainment. It is estimated the promoters of MAA TV have invested about Rs 130 crore in the network so far.
In 2007, MAA TV, which commenced operations in 2002, was acquired by Nimmagadda Prasad and his associates. Prasad, an entrepreneur, had earlier sold Matrix Labs to Mylan.
MAA TV Chairman Prasad said last year, the company’s market share was the 16th highest nationally and the highest in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
“The acquisition fills a vital gap in our portfolio, allowing our advertisers targeted access to a critical market,” STAR India chief executive Uday Shankar told the media.
While Prasad has 65 per cent stake in the company, Chiranjeevi has 20 per cent and Nagarjuna 10 per cent; the rest is held by retail investors.
Star chief Shankar said STAR would not only retain the MAA TV brand but also its 500-odd employees. Besides, it would invest more on developing the content, as well as talent. “The Telugu market is an important one. However, the pace of innovation is slow. We are keen to change this by acquiring local presence and fundamentally changing the content quality paradigm”.