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MUMBAI:
For the seven Indian promoters who had joined hands with Sony
Pictures to set up Sony Entertainment Television India (now
Multi Screen Media) in 1995, it is party time. The government
has approved Multi Screen Media's (MSM) Rs 5.45 billion foreign
direct investment (FDI) proposal to buy out the stake of its
Indian promoters.
The
payment was to be made in stages, with $145 million coming
at the closing of the acquisition by December-end 2012. The
balance $126 million would be paid in three equal annual installments
starting from the fiscal year ending 31 March 2014.
Sony
Pictures Television (SPT), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary
of Sony Pictures Entertainment and also the parent company
of MSM, had last year bought out the stake of the Indian shareholders
in MSM for an agreed amount of $271 million.
Sudesh
Mani Iyer, Sushil Shergil, Rakesh Agarwal, Jayesh Parikh,
Raman Maroo, BR Sule and film actor Jackie Shroff are the
seven Indian promoters who held almost 32 per cent stake in
MSM through Grandway Global Holdings and Atlas Equifin.
The
Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) gave its approval
to MSM's proposal.
Sony’s
stake in MSM is a little over 94 per cent with the balance
being with private equity firm Capital International.
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