MUMBAI: Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL) has acquired 67 per cent stake in Asian Age Holdings Ltd for Rs 171 million, scaling up its holdings in the daily newspaper to 90 per cent.
 
DCHL, which publishes the Deccan Chronicle newspaper, has bought out Zee Telefilms' 15 per cent stake Asian Age Holdings. The other shareholders from which DCHL has acquired equity are MJ Akbar (26 per cent), United Breweries (23 per cent) and T Venkattram Reddy (3 per cent). Earlier DCHL had held 23 per cent in The Asian Age, a daily newspaper published simultaneously from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and London.

The revenue and the brand ownership will be transferred to DCHL, with the Asian Age Brand expected to contribute Rs 750 million to Rs 1000 million to the top line by Fiscal 2007, the company informed BSE.
 
 
"The acquisition of Asian Age will transform DCHL into a National player with presence in the large advertising markets of Mumbai and Delhi in addition to presence in Kolkata, Bangalore and London," says DCHL managing director T Vinayak Ravi Reddy.

Zee Telefilms had picked up 15 per cent stake in Asian Age Holdings in 2001. Currently, Zee is planning launch of a news daily in Mumbai with Dainik Bhaskar as the joint venture partner.