TV18 Group acquires Crisil MarketWire

New Delhi, Nov 14 (UNI) Continuing its spree of takeovers, Television Eighteen India Ltd today said it has reached a deal to acquire CRISIL MarketWire (CMW) from CRISIL Ltd to grow its news and the information terminal business.

The transfer, to take effect on January 1, 2007, follows both the companies' decision to jointly develop a framework for business collaboration.

Post-acquisition the news-agency will be rechristened NewsWire18 Pvt Ltd.

''We are very pleased to have the CMW business on-board and are committed to help it grow to its rightful potential. This transaction and the news and data platform complements our leadership brands in the financial news and information space and will help us extend our dominance to the institutional segment and serve it better,'' Television Eighteen India Group CEO Haresh Chawla said.

However, the amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Televison Eighteen said that this transfer will further enhance CMW's capability to meet customer demand for a good quality, locally-focused real-time news and data product that meets all the needs of financial market participants in India.

''To achieve this aim, CMW will transform itself from a real-time financial newswire into an integrated information terminal, targeted initially at the domestic market,'' Mr Chawla said.

The TV18 group will take over all the assets and liabilities. Mr Pankaj Aher, currently Chief Executive Officer of CRISIL MarketWire Ltd, will continue to be the CEO of NewsWirel8 Pvt Ltd. The new venture will carry with it all the staff of CMW across all locations and functions.

The news business will have its own real-time market data and news terminal to be sourced from UK-headquartered Tenfore Systems Ltd, which has direct end-users in more than 60 countries and enjoys the base of 500 corporate clients.

''The strategic fit that the newswire business will provide to our existing business will create tremendous shareholder value. This acquisition marks an important milestone in our journey towards becoming a more integrated news company,'' company Managing Director Raghav Bahl said.

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