Sun TV under a cloud; Raj TV Shines

Kalanithi Maran, who is the brother of Dayanidhi Maran, holds a majority 90% stake in the south-based media major. Maran is related to Tamilnadu chief minister and DMK supremo K Karunanidhi.

The Sun TV stock had plunged 7.2% on 14 May 2007 after Maran had resigned from the Union cabinet late evening on Sunday, 13 May 2007, following a directive from the DMK boss. The stock is off from a high of Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,300 currently. Read about the Dark Side of Dayanidhi Maran here.

The stock is currently trading 1:1 cum-bonus and also cum stock-split in the ratio of 2-for-1. As a result, the face value of the scrip will become Rs 5 instead of the present Rs 10.

Sun TV’s integrated growth strategy is to build a dominant presence in south India. It is a leading television broadcaster in all southern states of India. It offers four Tamil language channels Sun TV, Sun News, Sun Music and KTV as also two Malayalam channels Surya TV and Kiran TV, apart from Telugu and Kannada language channels.

The stock of Raj TV is consistently moving up after the fall of Dayanidhi Maran. From Rs 186 on May 14th currently the Raj TV stock is locked in upward circuit at Rs 318. It is rumored that the Karunanidhi Family is now backing Raj TV as DMK channel to counter any challenges from Jaya TV.