Sun TV Network fell 8.40% to Rs 294.90 at 11:27 IST on BSE, extending yesterday's fall triggered by reports that the Prime Minister's Office finds merit in the Home Ministry's case against the company.
Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 89.72 points, or 0.32%, to 27,894.09.
On BSE, so far 8.84 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 1.50 lakh shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 325 and a low of Rs 281 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 476 on 7 July 2014. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 258 on 8 June 2015.
Shares of Sun TV had fallen 3.41% to Rs 321.95 yesterday, 23 June 2015. The stock has fallen 11.52% in the preceding two trading sessions from Rs 333.30 on 22 June 2015.
The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 23 June 2015, sliding 10.04% compared with 0.55% fall in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 21.88% as against Sensex's 1.38% fall.
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The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 197.04 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.
According to reports, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has weighed in on the standoff between the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) over MHA's denial of security clearance to 33 channels of the Sun Group, and indications are that it has found more merit in the MHA argument.
The issue of granting security clearance to Sun TV has divided the government, with the MIB and the MHA taking opposite views, reports said.
Broadcasters such as Sun TV need a security clearance every 10 years in order to continue their operations. MHA wants to deny security clearance to Sun TV on the ground that its promoter Kalanithi Maran is being investigated for criminal cases.
MHA has been maintaining that Sun TV could not be granted security clearance as its promoters were facing serious charges in connection with several investigations. The ministry had cited three reasons: the Aircel-Maxis deal corruption case, money laundering case against Marans being probed by the enforcement directorate and a case relating to operation of an illegal exchange, reports added.
MIB is reportedly in favour of granting security clearance to Sun TV. On Saturday, 20 June 2015, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi reportedly backed MIB and opined that denial of security clearance to Sun TV citing "economic security" was not legally tenable as the promoters were battling only corruption cases.
Earlier on 1 April 2015, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties and shares worth Rs 742.58 crore of Sun TV promoter Kalanithi Maran, his wife Kaveri Kalanithi and his brother Dayanidhi Maran related to the Aircel-Maxis case.
The properties attached include Kalanithi Maran's shares worth Rs 139 crore in Sun Direct TV, free hold land and building owned by Sun Network TV worth Rs 266 crore, land and building owned by Kal Comm worth Rs 171.55 crore, fixed deposit held by Kalanithi Maran of Rs 100 crore, fixed deposit held by South Asia FM Ltd worth Rs 31.34 crore, fixed deposits held by Dayanidhi Maran and others for Rs 7.47 crore and fixed deposits and mutual funds held by Kaveri Kalanithi worth Rs 1.30 crore and Rs 1.78 crore each, report added.
In 2011, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its chargesheet had noted that Dayanidhi Maran, when he was the telecom minister between 2004 and 2007, had entered into a criminal conspiracy against C Sivasankaran of Aircel and stalled approvals for spectrum licences to Aircel only to force him to sell his company to Malaysia's Maxis Communication which later invested in Maran's Sun Network group. The agency also alleged that the Rs 629-crore investment by Maxis in the Sun Network was part of the Rs 742 crore quid pro quo the Marans received for the Aircel deal.
Sun TV Network's net profit rose 2.7% to Rs 202.99 crore on 7.3% rise in total income to Rs 572.02 crore in Q4 March 2015 over Q4 March 2014.
Sun TV Network had its humble beginnings in 'Poomalai' - a monthly video magazine. Today, it grew upto India's largest television network which, power packed Thirty Two TV channels and Forty Five FM Radio stations in several Indian languages in infotainment covering movies, entertainment, music, documentary and news, each carries its own distinctive content and brand personality while collectively providing audiences a range of choice.
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