Kalanithi Maran turns poorer by Rs 1000 crore on CBI probe talks

CHENNAI: Media mogul Kalanithi Maran's wealth on paper fell over Rs 1,000 crore on Friday after news that the Central Bureau of Investigation is poised to file charges against him and his brother caused a sharp drop in the share prices of two companies he owns-Sun TV and SpiceJet.

The Times of India reported that the CBI is ready to file charges against Maran and his brother, former telecom minister Dayanidhi, over allegations that they received kickbacks when Malaysia's Maxis bought a stake in Aircel.

Shares of Sun TV, a major media network in South India, plunged 40% in early trade before recovering some of the lost ground to close at Rs 261.65, still 11% down. SpiceJet shares closed at Rs 25.20, 10.6% down.

Kalanithi Maran owns 77% of Sun TV and over 43% of SpiceJet.

"Political concerns regarding the Aircel-Maxis deal probe remains an overhang on the stock. We believe the stock will remain volatile in the near term even if the Sun TV results meet street expectations," said Amit Patil, Research Analyst-Media, Angel broking.

The Maran brothers are being investigated by the CBI over allegations that Aircel's former owner C Sivasankaran was arm-twisted into selling his company to Maxis founder T Anandakrishnan, who in turn invested in Kalanithi Maran's Sun DTH. The Times of India reported that the CBI will charge them with receiving nearly Rs 550 crore in kickbacks.

Sun TV's Q1 results will be announced on August 3.

Maran wasn't available for comment. Nor were any top official of Sun TV.

His business empire has been on a downhill since early last year, when it first came to light that the brothers are under the CBI radar. Then, when AIADMK came to power in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister floated a government-run cable service Arasu targetted at upsetting the distribution strength of Maran.

Negotiations to include the Sun group of channels into the Arasu fold have been long-drawn and yet to conclude.

Maran's close aide Hansraj Saxena was then arrested on charges of defrauding film producers. He has since resigned from Sun and been released on bail.

There have been a flurry of management changes of late in the Sun group. In April, Maran stepped down as managing director, a post he had held ever since the founding of Sun TV. Recently, Tony D'Silva, the group's CEO, quit.