India’s Adani Group said on Tuesday its media unit will buy a majority stake in New Delhi Television, one of nation’s most popular, in the most high-profile bet by billionaire Gautam Adani in the vibrant media sector.

Adani’s unit will indirectly buy a 29.18 percent stake in New Delhi Television Ltd. and launch an open offer for another 26 percent stake. The open offer would be worth Rs. 4.93 billion ($61.73 million), according to statement from the Adani Group.

Earlier on Tuesday, Adani said it bought Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL) for Rs. 1.14 billion. VCPL owns warrants of NDTV shareholder RRPR and on Tuesday exercised its rights to convert those warrants into shares amounting to 99.5 percent of RRPR, a Reuters report stated.

NDTV is a leading media house and operates three national news channels, NDTV 24×7, NDTV India and NDTV Profit. RRPR holds a 29.18 percent stake in NDTV.

Adani Group took a minority stake in local digital business news platform Quintillion in March this year.

The statement, which sent ripples through the media industry with most media professionals — whom Indianbroadcastingworld.com spoke to — expressing surprise, stated NDTV is a leading media house that has pioneered the delivery of credible news for over three decades. Apart from the three news channels, it also has strong online presence and remains one of the most followed news handles on social media with more than 35 million followers across various platforms.

NDTV recorded a revenue of Rs. 421 crore with an EBITDA of Rs. 123 crore and net profit of Rs. 85 crore in FY22 with negligible debt, the statement highlighted.

“This acquisition is a significant milestone in the journey of AMNL’s goal to pave the path of new age media across platforms” stated Sanjay Pugalia, CEO, AMG Media Networks Limited, in a statement.

“AMNL seeks to empower Indian citizens, consumers and those interested in India, with information and knowledge. With its leading position in news and its strong and diverse reach across genres and geographies, NDTV is the most suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on our vision. We look forward to strengthening NDTV’s leadership in news delivery,” he added.