Report: Fairfax seeking share in The Hindu
By Leah McBride Mensching, Wednesday 16 April 2008 at 23:39 :: Media Ownership :: #1544 :: rss
Fairfax Media is looking to buy a stake in national Indian newspaper The Hindu, an English-language daily, The Australian has reported Thursday.
The Australian cited reports by weekly magazine Business India and business daily Mint, both of which reported Fairfax was discussing the transaction with Kasturi & Sons, owners of The Hindu.
Last year, Fairfax spent AU$3.3 billion buying Rural Press and radio and television production assets of Southern Cross Broadcasting. However, Bruce Wolpe, a Fairfax spokesman, told The Australian that reports that the group is vying for a foothold in India is “entirely speculative.”
The Hindu is valued at 26 billion to 28 billion rupees ($700 million to $755 million), according to The Australian, which cited a report by Mint.
“We have no comment on it," Wolpe told The Australian. "We meet with media players worldwide and don't discuss those conversations with the media."
According to Mint, however : “Insiders close to Kasturi's shareholders and some media analysts said the discussions are indeed on, and the senior executives of the company, which also publishes The Hindu Business Line, have been visiting Australia at regular intervals.”
The Hindu is based in Chennai, and has been owned by the Kasturi family since 1905. It is one of three national English-language newspapers in India, and sells 1.2 million copies a day, and counts a readership of about four million.
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