Times Group Split: Sameer Jain Gets Print Business, Vineet Settles with Broadcast and Cash

After several media outlets reported the news, the group issued an official statement stating that no such split has occurred between the brothers.

According to media outlet Exchange4Media, the Times Group, which is officially known as Bennett, Coleman & Co., has been split among the Jain brothers. For the record, brothers Sameer Jain and Vineet Jain are the sole owners of India’s oldest and most prestigious media company.

However, once Exchange4Media’s report went viral, the group released an official statement saying that no such deal has occurred between the brothers and that the group is intact as it was.

Sameer gets print, Vineet settles for broadcast

As per the same Exchange4Media report, Sameer Jain received the print side of the business, whereas Vineet Jain settled with the OTT platform MX Player, Radio Mirchi, and the broadcast side of the business.

People who knew about the deal also informed Exchange4Media that Vineet will receive an additional cash amount of INR 3,500 crore from his brother Sameer to strike a balance in the partition.

Exchange4Media also quoted a source who informed them: "The real estate belonging to the company, which includes various properties and a printing press across India, has also been valued and will be divided equally between the two brothers."

BCCL’s statement

Reacting to the media speculations, Kaushik Nath, the Secretary of Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd. (BCCL), said, "As the KMP of the company, it is my duty to inform that employees should not go by speculation in the media about the reorganisation of the company. Please be notified that social media has been speculative and incorrect," as quoted by WION.

Times of India

One of the oldest media companies in India, the Times of India, published its first edition in 1893 and quickly became the largest-selling English-language newspaper in the world.

The newspaper had several owners until, in 1960, the Jain family finally took over the company and has been running and expanding the group ever since. However, in recent years, the two brothers have had differences of opinion on how to take the business forward.