MUMBAI: Anil Ambani looks to be in a mighty hurry to carve out a telecom and entertainment empire, soon after splitting from his brother Mukesh. His latest move in what has been a high octane week: The acquisition for Rs 3.50 billion ($83 million) of a 51 per cent controlling stake in Adlabs Films, a leading motion picture processing laboratory which also runs a chain of multiplexes.

The acquisition will be made through Reliance Land Pvt Ltd (RLPL), a part of the Reliance Capital group. "Reliance Land proposes to acquire Adlabs Films, subject to applicable SEBI takeover regulations, and shareholder and other approvals, as may be necessary, at an estimated investment of Rs 350 crore," an official release says.

A Reliance spokesperson added: "Pursuing the large opportunity to infuse capital and provide management bandwidth to promising companies as a planned strategy of growth, we are proposing to acquire Adlabs, a leading company in the entertainment sector."

According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, Reliance will make an open offer for 20 per cent stake. Reliance Capital already holds 5.84 per cent in Adlabs.

Official confirmation was not available on this though. Attempts to contact Shetty for his comment proved futile till the time of filing this report.

According to earlier reports, Reliance Capital has acquired a 15 per stake in Prime Focus, a Mumbai-based TV and film editing company.

With Reliance Infocomm under his control after the split, Anil is planning to line up entertainment content through acquisitions before he rolls out triple play (voice, data and video)services. Reliance Energy, his other company, has already applied for direct-to-home license.

ADLABS SHARES HIT 20% CIRCUIT BREAKER AT Rs 240.60

Adlabs Films hit the 20 per cent circuit breaker, fuelled by the news that Reliance Capital group company was acquiring controlling stake. The scrip opened at Rs 200 and closed at Rs 240.60.

Interestingly, the Adlabs stock has been gaining since Monday on the back of interest from institutional investors.