Chandrasekhar acquires major stake in Asianet

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's first Malayalam television channel, Asianet, has seen a change of ownership with Rajeev Chandrasekhar acquiring majority stake in the company.

Asianet was launched by Reji Menon when most Indian entrepreneurs were weary about investing in private television channels.

Chandrasekhar is the former boss of BPL Mobile, before he sold his stake in the company for about Rs12 billion (Dh1 billion) to Hutchinson Essar.

Chandrasekhar has acquired 51 per cent stake in Asianet through his Jupiter Entertainment Ventures company, for an undisclosed amount. There is speculation that the sale of stake may have been for about Rs1.5 billion.

The acquisition is expected to bring Chandrasekhar into the entertainment industry in a big way, after his successful operations in the telecom industry which he exited.

Menon may now pursue his interests in oil exploration in Ukraine. Menon and Asianet managing director K. Madhavan will continue to keep about 46 per cent in Asianet.