MUMBAI: It was in the month of July when news reports about a leading corporate house showing interest in acquiring news broadcaster New Delhi Television (NDTV) soared. The buzz had a positive impact on the shares of the news broadcaster, which hit its upper limit of approximately 20 per cent.

The news caught more fire, when business journalist Sucheta Dalal tweeted, “Sources say Adani has made a bid for #NDTV. Haggling about price. Stock shot up 20%. muzzling @madhukishwar & us to keep out bad news?”

NDTV refuted the report by issuing a statement to the BSE on 25 July evening. The statement said, "As part of its continuing business strategy to look for growth opportunities, the Company is constantly on the look out for and in discussions with potential partners in various capacities to further its business. The Company is not aware of any negotiations ...”

Since no mention was made to Adani Group in the statement, the buzz about the company bidding for NDTV kept doing its rounds with more media reports coming out on the same.

The news broadcaster, in order to put a stop to any such news, has therefore once again issued a statement on 25 August.  Says NDTV senior vice president corporate affairs Manisha Natarajan, “All and any reports of the Adani Group looking to acquire a stake in NDTV are utterly false and entirely baseless.”

“We request all media houses and publications to refrain from publishing any such motivated rumours,” she adds.