Leading media groups in race for Mid-Day

group and another leading regional newspaper company are understood to have bid for a majority stake in Mid-Day Multimedia, the Mid-Day group's holding company for newspapers, radio channels and outdoor media.

The Mid-Day group today opened the bids it had received for the equity. But sources close to the development said some of the bids were complex, and sought not a majority stake but just some of the businesses Mid-Day controlled.

"Some of the bids by Indian media players have come in as part of a consortium of domestic as well as international private equity funds. There are proposals for acquiring a minority as well as a majority stake, besides merger proposals," sources said.

While the group is yet to take a call on the exact extent of equity dilution, the decision will primarily depend on the valuation and the nature of sale.

Manajit Ghoshal, chief financial officer of Mid Day Multimedia, told Business Standard: "We have received complex acquisition proposals. We will take around a week to evaluate all the proposals and shortlist the final bidder." DSP Merrill Lynch is the adviser to the deal.

The Mid-Day group had earlier told Business Standard that the promoters were open to selling their majority stake if offered at least Rs 70 per share, the price at which the company was listed when it went public last year.

The scrip is now hovering at Rs 48 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up from Rs 25-30 when the stake offloading plan was announced.

The company had said the promoters' aim is to offer an appropriate valuation to the minority shareholders who entered the primary market for stock at this price range.