| | | Question of the Week With many recent Bollywood films crashing at the box office, multiplex companies have had a tough time. Which was the first ever multiplex cinema in India? | | |  | Here's a great value proposition A digital subscription to Mint premium can be yours at just ₹213 per month. Check out the convenient and affordable plans we have for you here. | | Good Morning | | The News in Summary Zee and Sony Pictures faced an unexpected hurdle to their proposed merger with the Competition Commission of India of the view that it had the potential to hurt competition. Elsewhere, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani rolled out mega investments for the conglomerate’s various businesses but was silent on expected plans to spin off telecom and retail and list them separately. Another large conglomerate, the Adani group, moved ahead with its plans to acquire NDTV despite protests from the media company’s promoters, Prannoy and Radhika Roy. And even while it readies for the launch of new models of SUVs to claw back some of its recently lost market share, Maruti Suzuki chairman R.C. Bhargava affirmed the company’s commitment to small cars. | | | | CCI Raises Doubts About Zee-Sony Merger In a major reversal, the Competition Commission of India has observed that the planned merger of the Indian unit of Japan’s Sony and Zee Entertainment will potentially hurt competition by having “unparalleled bargaining power”. In a notice to the two companies, the competition watchdog has said further investigation in the matter is merited. This will likely delay regulatory approval of the deal and could force the companies to make changes to their structure. CCI said the proposed deal would place the combined entity in a “strong position” with around 92 channels in India. It also cited Sony’s global revenue of $86 billion and assets of $211 billion, all of which would give it a “humongous market position”. In December, the two companies decided to merge their television channels, film assets and streaming platforms to create a $10 billion powerhouse, following months of an acrimonious spat between Zee’s promoters, Subhash Chandra and his family, and the company’s largest investor, Invesco Developing Markets Fund. In an unrelated development, the Chandra family had to eat humble pie in another of its ventures when his brother Jawahar Goel finally agreed to step down as a director of Dish TV India at the company’s forthcoming annual general meeting on 26 September. This marks the fruition of the company’s largest shareholder Yes Bank Ltd’s year-long campaign to oust him as chairman from the company’s board. | | | | Ambani Affirms Mega Investments but Silent on Listing Plans for Telecom & Retail Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani unveiled mega investment plans totalling Rs 2.75 trillion while hinting at a succession scheme that would help the conglomerate double its value by 2027. The investment bonanza would include Rs 2 trillion to roll out 5G services across major cities by Diwali this year and across the nation by the end of next year. In addition, there is Rs 75,000 crore earmarked to set up India’s first carbon fibre factory and add capacity in areas such as polyester and vinyl as part of its oils-to-chemicals (O2C) business. He also pointed to accelerated investments in the new energy business and, in a surprise move, expansion into the fast-moving consumer goods industry, with its first foray coming the very next day with the acquisition of Campa Cola from the Pure Drinks group, which had launched the cola in 1977 following the exit of Coca Cola from the country. What was missing was details of the plan to unlock value through IPOs of its retail and telecom units, something investors had been waiting to hear. In addition, Ambani introduced his three children, Akash, Isha and Anant, as the successors to his Rs 17.5 trillion empire and even marked out the specific group verticals they would steer. But there was still no clarity on the leadership of the group’s core energy business. He did, however, highlight that the interests of one person or a family would not override that of the group. | | |  | | | | | | | | Decks Cleared for Adani’s Acquisition of NDTV With markets regulator, Sebi concluding after internal discussions that there was no bar on RRPR Holding Ltd, a promoter entity of news broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV), from allotting shares to Adani Group, Gautam Adani’s acquisition of the news company appears inevitable. NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy claimed that a prior regulatory nod was needed for the transfer of shares as Sebi had barred them from dealing in shares for two years till 26 November, a contention Adani had contested. Sebi seems to agree with Adani’s view that the ban pertains to Roys, not RRPR. Once the regulator announces its decision, Adani may have to opt for arbitration to enforce the agreement if the shares are still not allotted. | | Small Cars Will Stay Big for Maruti Undeterred by falling volumes in the entry-level car market, the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, expects the segment to remain a major part of the domestic market and a strong bet for the company. In an interview, chairman R.C. Bhargava said the automaker would continue to play a significant role in the Rs 5 lakh car segment even as its rivals vacate the market, where volumes have halved as a percentage of total auto sector sales over the past three years. Bhargava said the small car segment had been hit hard by rising prices which has impacted customer affordability, and termed the downturn in entry-level cars as temporary. The Indian auto market, which grew in the past on rising sales of small cars, has changed over the last few years, with SUVs taking over as the largest passenger vehicle segment at 40% share, followed by hatchbacks at about 38% in terms of sales volume. With Maruti Suzuki’s market share falling to nearly 43% at the end of FY22, from 47% in FY21, it is betting on new sport-utility vehicle (SUV) models such as the Grand Vitara to help it regain lost momentum. | | |  | | | | Forty years after Maruti launched its first small car Maruti 800, the company’s cars remain the undisputed champion of the country’s auto market. Watch this interview with the company’s chairman R.C. Bhargava explaining how the company achieved its current supremacy:  | | | | Last Word Multiplexes in the country are suffering as Bollywood continues to dish out duds. Even as PVR and Inox clear the regulatory hurdles for their planned merger, they are feeling the heat from the failure of movies that have hit the screens over the past month. Films like the Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ and ‘Raksha Bandhan’ featuring Akshay Kumar have crashed at the box office. A ‘boycott Bollywood’ campaign on social media hasn’t helped either, resulting in occupancy levels at both PVR and Inox Leisure dropping to among the lowest levels seen during ‘normal’ times. Consequently, shares of both companies fell around 18% from their highs this month. Analysts expect the two companies will barely eke out an Ebitda break even. A lot is now riding on Ayan Mukherji’s “Brahmastra: Part One Shiva”, starring Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor along with Amitabh Bachchan, which will hit the screens on 9 September. | | Answer to the Question Ajay Bijli’s PVR Pictures set up the first multiplex cinema in India at PVR Anupam in Saket in New Delhi in June 1997. | | | Do you have any questions? Send in your queries to sundeepkkhanna@gmail.com Were you forwarded this email? Did you stumble upon it online? Sign up here. | Please share your feedback with us What do you think about this newsletter? | | Written by Sundeep Khanna. Edited by Saikat Chatterjee. Produced by Divneet Singh. Send in your feedback to newsletters@livemint.com. | | | | | Download the Mint app and read premium stories | | | | | | View in Browser | Privacy Policy | Contact us You received this email because you signed up for Mint Top of the Morning or because it is included in your subscription. Copyright © HT Digital Streams. All Rights Reserved | | | | |
