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2G scam: Dayanidhi Maran link pulls down Sun TV, SpiceJet shares

The CBI is conducting a preliminary investigation into Maran's activities to see if there is any evidence of any conspiracy, any rules flouted, Dharini Mishra, a Central Bureau of investigation spokesperson said.

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Shares of billionaire Kalanidhi Maran-owned Sun TV Network and SpiceJet plunged on Thursday following reports that his brother and Union textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran has been named in a lawsuit related to the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Sun TV plummeted 28% to Rs272.10 on the BSE, the biggest fall since its listing in 2006, and SpiceJet dropped 16% to close the day at Rs34.50.

Sun Group, one of the biggest media conglomerates in the country, has 20 TV channels, 45 radio stations, four magazines, two dailies, a DTH (direct to home) service provider and an airline (SpiceJet), according to its website.

It also produces and distributes movies under Sun Pictures and runs Sun Cable Vision, a cable distribution company with a reported market share of 90% in Tamil Nadu.

Recent media reports say Sun Group in 2007 received kickbacks of Rs700 crore from Malaysian company Maxis Group in return for 2G spectrum and licence for Aircel, in which Maxis had acquired a 74% stake. Maran was the union telecom minister between 2004 and 2007.

The CBI is conducting a “preliminary investigation” into Maran’s activities to “see if there is any evidence of any conspiracy, any rules flouted”, Dharini Mishra, a Central Bureau of investigation spokesperson said.

Shares of billionaire Kalanidhi Maran-owned Sun TV Network and SpiceJet plunged on Thursday following reports that his brother and Union textiles minister Dayanidhi Maran has been named in a lawsuit related to the 2G spectrum allocation scam. Sun TV plummeted 28% to Rs272.10 on the BSE, the biggest fall since its listing in 2006, and SpiceJet dropped 16% to close the day at Rs34.50.

Sun Group, one of the biggest media conglomerates in the country, has 20 TV channels, 45 radio stations, four magazines, two dailies, a DTH (direct to home) service provider and an airline (SpiceJet), according to its website. It also produces and distributes movies under Sun Pictures and runs Sun Cable Vision, a cable distribution company with a reported market share of 90% in Tamil Nadu.

Recent media reports say Sun Group in 2007 received kickbacks of Rs700 crore from Malaysian company Maxis Group in return for 2G spectrum and licence for Aircel, in which Maxis had acquired a 74% stake. Maran was the union telecom minister between 2004 and 2007.

The CBI is conducting a “preliminary investigation” into Maran’s activities to “see if there is any evidence of any conspiracy, any rules flouted”, Dharini Mishra, a spokeswoman for the CBI, said.

Talking to reporters at the Chennai airport on Thursday night, Maran said, “The allegations are a systematically planned campaign to malign me and my party.”

This is undoubtedly the biggest crisis for the Marans since their rift with granduncle and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and his family in 2007 over a controversial opinion poll conducted by a Sun Group daily. This had led to Dayanidhi removal from the cabinet before a patch-up saw him being reinstalled.

“After I resigned [as telecom minister], there could have been an investigation. That was my position then,” he said. “I was a political untouchable during that period. When I was not a minister nobody wanted to get in touch with me. I have never helped anyone. I was pushed out of political circle.”

On allegations that he got BSNL to connect over 300 telephone lines to his Chennai house for his family business, he said, “What they have questioned is not only my integrity but my family’s integrity, my party’s integrity.”

Citing a letter from the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd when he was the Union Telecom Minister, Maran said, “The letter from BSNL shows, I have only one phone connection.”
In less than two decades, Sun TV has grown into an entity with an annual revenue of Rs1,924 crore and is valued at Rs10,700 crore even after Thursday’s fall.

Last June, Kalanidhi expanded his footprint beyond media and bought 37.7% in SpiceJet for Rs750 crore. At present he owns 38.61% in the airline, of which he is the chairman.
The latest Forbes list of billionaires pegged his wealth at $3.5 billion as of March this year.

Talking to reporters at the Chennai airport on Thursday night, Maran said, “The allegations are a systematically planned campaign to malign me and my party.”

This is undoubtedly the biggest crisis for the Marans since their rift with granduncle and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and his family in 2007 over a controversial opinion poll conducted by a Sun Group daily. This had led to Dayanidhi removal from the cabinet before a patch-up saw him being reinstalled.

“After I resigned [as telecom minister], there could have been an investigation. That was my position then,” he said. “I was a political untouchable during that period. When I was not a minister nobody wanted to get in touch with me. I have never helped anyone. I was pushed out of political circle.”
On allegations that he got BSNL to connect over 300 telephone lines to his Chennai house for his family business, he said, “What they have questioned is not only my integrity but my family’s integrity, my party’s integrity.”

Citing a letter from the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd when he was the Union Telecom Minister, Maran said, “The letter from BSNL shows, I have only one phone connection.”
In less than two decades, Sun TV has grown into an entity with an annual revenue of Rs1,924 crore and is valued at Rs10,700 crore even after Thursday’s fall.

Last June, Kalanidhi expanded his footprint beyond media and bought 37.7% in SpiceJet for Rs750 crore. At present he owns 38.61% in the airline, of which he is the chairman. The latest Forbes list of billionaires pegged his wealth at $3.5 billion as of March this year.
 

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