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Tag: Padmalaya

  • Zee wants Rs 590 million to exit Padmalaya

    Zee wants Rs 590 million to exit Padmalaya

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms Ltd has asked the promoters of Padmalaya Enterprises Private Ltd (PEPL) to pay Rs 590 million to buy out their entire shares in the subsidiary company.

    This follows Zee’s decision to exit from Padmalaya following the controversial transfer of shares in the listed company Padmalaya Telefilms Ltd (PTL).

    “Zee had invested Rs 590 million in the Padmalaya deal and we want to recover that cost. This includes the open offer that we had to make at that time,” says a source in Zee Telefilms.

    Zee is in advanced stage of negotiations with Padmalaya promoters and hopes to come to an agreement next week, the source added. Zee has 64 per cent stake in PEPL and has decided to sell its entire stake in the company. PEPL held a 50.3 per cent controlling stake in PTL.

    A senior Zee official is in Hyderabad to finalise the deal with Padmalaya promoters. Zee is expected to recover Rs 590 million from sale of property by PEPL. Though the deal for purchase of Zee shares in Padmalaya was expected to be signed on Saturday, the Zee source said that it would be extended to next week.

    Zee had threatened to take legal action against the PEPL promoters for “misappropriation of substantial shares” that its subsidiary PEPL held in PTL. But Padmalaya promoters made an offer to buy out Zee’s stake in PEPL in exchange for immovable property.

    Zee had earlier accused Padmalaya founder-promoter GA Seshagiri Rao, along with his relatives, of pledging PEPL’s shares in PTL to raise loans without the knowledge of the board. As a result of the misappropriation, PEPL’s holding in PTL has dropped from 50.3 per cent to

  • Zee seeks SEBI intervention against Padmalaya promoters

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) has requested market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to investigate into the fraudulent acts of founder-promoters of the Padmalaya companies.

    “We have written to SEBI, informing the regulator of the wrong filings of shareholding pattern by Padmalaya Telefilms Ltd (PTL) to defraud its shareholders. We want SEBI to intervene,” says a source in Zee.

    PTL, Zee says, has filed wrong shareholding pattern of the company on quarterly basis. The filings were “totally incorrect and were not representing the correct shareholding position of the company on the date or for the period of filing.”

    Zee has accused the promoter shareholders of misappropriating a substantial amount of shares that its subsidiary Padmalaya Enterprises Private Ltd. (PEPL) held in PTL, a listed company. Padmalaya companies’ managing director GA Seshagiri Rao, along with his relatives, had allegedly pledged PEPL’s shares in PTL to raise loans without the knowledge of the board.

    ZTL, which has a 64 per cent stake in PEPL, is unhappy. As a result of the misappropriation, PEPL’s holding in PTL has dropped from 50.3 per cent to about 20 per cent. Zee’s indirect interest in PTL has, thus, fallen from 33 per cent to around 13 per cent.

    Zee is also planning to initiate legal action against some of those who have lend money to the promoter shareholders against the PTL shares, the source says. The recipient of the PTL shares held by PEPL has ignored to file any declaration of their holding even though their stake or the size of the transaction was more than two per cent of PTL’s total issued and paid up capital.

    Explaining to SEBI, Zee has said that it was offered a strategic stake in PTL by Rao and his relatives in March 2002. Zee entered into an arrangement which resulted in constitution of PEPL (a dormant company till then) as the holding company of PTL. ZTL funded PEPL to enable it to subscribe to the PTL shares issued on preferential basis and to acquire PTL shares in the open offer. PEPL acquired 20,00,000 shares on preferential basis and 19,25,031 shares under open offer. The promoter shareholders transferred their stake of 22.50 lakh shares of PTL to PEPL and Rao continued to occupy the position of managing director of PTL and PEPL.

    But in August 2004, Zee came to know from informal sources in the market that there were irregularities in the functioning of PEPL and PTL. ZTL appointed M/s Guru and Ram, Chartered Accountants, Chennai, to look into the matter which submitted the final report on 9 December, 2004.

    “Keeping the Board of PEPL and ZTL in the dark, the promoter shareholders fraudulently with dishonest intentions, misappropriated 6,264,631 equity shares of PTL held by PEPL to provide security for raising loans in the name of Rao, brother GSR Krishna Murthy and their related entities/companies, primarily Padmalaya Studios Private Limited and Padmalaya Vision Ltd,” Zee informed SEBI.

  • Zee to approach SEBI against Padmalaya promoters

    Zee to approach SEBI against Padmalaya promoters

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Zee Telefilms will be seeking market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) intervention for action against promoter shareholders of Padmalaya.

    This relates to the alleged misappropriation of a substantial amount of shares that Padmalaya Enterprises Private Ltd (PEPL) held in Padmalaya Telefilms Ltd (PTL).

    “We may write to SEBI and other regulatory authorities for the founder-promoters fraudulent misappropriation of PEPL’s 6. 265 million shares in PTL to other lenders,” a senior Zee official tells indiantelevision.com.

    Padmalaya companies’ chairman and managing director GA Seshagiri Rao dismisses Zee’s allegations as false claims. “The loans were raised with the full knowledge of Zee. I was only a nominee of Zee. The management control is with them and they have other representatives on the board.”

    The Zee official, however, has put the charges back on Rao. “Has he brought these matters to the board? These issues were never discussed in the board. Nor were they disclosed in the filings to SEBI and the stock exchanges.”

    Zee, meanwhile, has issued a circular today to all employees of PEPL and PTL stating “not to be misguided by any rumours emanating from interested quarters.”

    According to the circular, a copy of which is available with the indiantelevision.com, “Attempts were made by ZTL during the last two months to ensure that those who have done fraudulent acts and deeds shall make good the losses suffered by the stakeholders, including employees. They accepted that their fraudulent acts have resulted in substantial losses and agreed to make good the loss. But they have gone back on their commitments.”

    Yesterday, Zee had said it would take legal action against Rao and promoter shareholders. ZTL’s interest in PTL through a 64 per cent stake buy in holding company Padmalaya Enterprises Private Ltd. stands at the crossroads with these allegations of misappropriation made against Rao and other shareholders. The misappropriation of 6.265 million shares of PTL held by PEPL has brought down Zee’s indirect interest in PTL from about 33 per cent to around 13 per cent, according to ZTL.

    The circular repeats some of the allegations levelled by ZTL yesterday against those entrusted with managing the two Padmalaya companies saying that “since the time of signing of the shareholders’ agreement, ZTL has always entrusted all responsibilities and authorities to Mr. Seshagiri Rao and his other family members.”

    The chief finance office of Padmalaya, a ZTL nominee, who issued the circular today on behalf of Zee, has also stated that “under the circumstances,” he will not be available to “supervise” the financial functions of the (Padmalaya) companies. This decision has also been communicated to Rao, the circular adds.

  • Need for govt. support to animation stressed at seminar

    Need for govt. support to animation stressed at seminar

    MUMBAI: The animation industry in India would receive a fillup if the government took steps to supports it. One of the steps could be that it mandates that animation channels carry at least 10 per cent of local content.

    This was a suggestion made by Padmalaya, Zica’s Rajiv Sangari at the Broadcast India 2004 Technical Symposium. He noted that France has six animation channels. The French government’s rule is that 60 per cent of content come from Europe. Out of that 40 per cent should be from France. “In India, on the other hand, there is zero consumption of local content. Doordarshan has never bothered about local content.

    “While I appreciate the fact that too much of regulation is not a good thing; if the government were to insist that just 10 per cent of local content be carried on animation channels then the industry would receive a boost,” Sangari said.

    Another problem he noted was that of low skill set. There are not more than 3000 skilled animators in the country while we need 15,000 of them. Philippines on the other hand has 40,000 skilled animators. What is happening as a result is that salaries in India go up by 40 per cent a year, which is unhealthy for a nascent industry. He warned that there were no shortcuts to being a complete animator. India has 15-20 animation studios compared to 200 in South Korea.

    On the positive side we get good 3D animation projects. India is in the process of applying its creativity on the right tools in this area. He noted that Indian companies do actual production work for animation projects in the US, Japan and Germany. These are the countries that outsource the most.

    As per Nasscom estimates the work that Indian animation companies do is worth $550 million. It is growing at 30 per cent a year. “While there is debate on these figures even if it is accurate we still do not account for one per cent of the global animation work.”

    Meanwhile Seagate Technology’s Sharad Srivastava delivered the keynote address on the storage solutions for the television and film industries. “In 2001 it took a year to fill up one terabyte of data. Today it takes a couple of hours. The global television industry produces 40,000 terabytes of data a year. Radio stations produce 14,000 terabytes. Multiple
    streaming of data is possible with digital archives. In this scenario hard disc drives for storing data have assumed a greater degree of importance.”

    He added that the products were getting more rugged and also allowed for multiple streaming of data. This is important for time shift capabilities and non linear editing. In time shift one data stream gets recorded while the other is viewed. He noted that these days many companies use a San Storage Area Network. Here a central pool of hard disk drives works
    with different servers.

    This allows the broadcaster to allocate space as and when required. This setup is important if there is a situation of data doubling every six months. Also Raid systems are expensive to upgrade. Then there are portable hard disk drives. These can store a maximum of 400 gigabytes, which is the equivalent of 400 hours of television or 2500 songs.

    Digiworkz’ Loh Siu Yin spoke on streamlining television broadcasting by using open source software. According to him the most important part in a broadcast network is the playback system which relays the information from Star, Zee, Sony to the MSO. The problem is that there are databases everywhere which are not defined. Also some traffic systems do not handle secondary material like sound quality. Broadcasting is too important for it to be done manually beyond a certain point.

    Information is embedded in a media database system. The source codes for the database and traffic system are kept a secret.

    One alternative is using an open source code. One can look at extending public interfaces like the playlist files. Then one builds an application using visual basic. One can check the playlist against the database and then uplink to the traffic system.

    He also suggested the use of database dumps. Software that he uses includes python, which understands binary files. Then there is sambam which is a Windows NT Server clone and Cron allows for the copying of files.

  • Animation opportunities to be discussed at Broadcast India

    Animation opportunities to be discussed at Broadcast India

    MUMBAI: Yet another edition of the Broadcast India exhibition and symposium kicks off on 26 October 2004 at the World trade Centre.

    The symposium spread over two days will have 22 sessions. There will be a session on animation. Padmalaya, Zica’s Rajiv Sangari will enlighten listeners on the opportunities available in this field. Animation Bridge’s Bhiren Ghose talks about the potential of India to emerge as the number one animation production source..

    The symposium kicks off with Seagate Technology’s Sharad Srivastava talking about storage solutions for television and film. Another session will deal with digital satellite news gathering systems being used by the likes of CNN.

    With piracy showing little sign of slowing down delegates will not want to miss the last session on the first day 26 October. This deals with how content owners can make more money by understanding their intellectual property rights.

  • Padmalaya Q1 net profit down 14.4%

    MUMBAI: The board of Padmalaya Telefilms has announced its financial results for the first quarter results ended 30 June 2004. The company has posted a net revenue of Rs 22.8 billion as compared to Rs 26.6 billion in the corresponding period last year, which shows a decline of 14.4 per cent.
     

    Net profit before tax showed a decline of 19 per cent, to Rs 6240.50 million in comparison to the previous year’s net profit which was Rs 7722.20 million.

    The 14.4 per cent decrease in sales, is attributed to one regional feature film release in the first quarter of last year, whereby the company achieved higher revenue in film division according to Padmalaya Telefilms CFO Sarasuram.The company has although released one regional film in July 2004 which will contribute to the second quarter turnover. One Hindi movie is also slated for release in the month of September.

    Also, in the television division, the library encashment was high in the previous year hence the turnover of the first quarter in the previous year is more.

    Staff costs have gone up by eight per cent as the company has recruited new employees for the envisaged expansion projects. Also, the existing employees were given yearly due increments.

    Coming to segment wise revenue and results one sees, that although no films have been released, the profit from the films division is Rs 315.8.60 million vis a vis Rs 2250.60 million in the previous corresponding period; the margin of profit up by 10 per cent.

    Sarasuram explains, “The film division comprises of Film Production, Distribution and Exhibition activities. Though there have been no releases, the distribution activity went well during the last quarter. Of the total 22 movies distributed during the first quarter, 12 movies were hits and others were average. This has contributed to higher revenue and higher profit margins.”

    Also in the exhibition activity, the total number of theatres increased. This was also a significant contributor to higher revenues and profits.

    TV profits have decreased dramatically at Rs 763.70 million, the margin of profit showing a decline of a whopping 24 per cent. This was because the current year’s library encashment was very nominal. The previous year saw library encashment contribute 43 per cent of the total Television turnover. However, the fall in TV arena of the company is noteworthy.

    Animation seems to have spruced up the company by almost an 80 per cent jump in profits. The last year saw an addition of the animation education division (from April 2004 onwards) and visual effects division for the existing animation division. The re-establishment of the brand name of ZICA , worked wonders for the lost stand ZICA had in the market. The expansion of the business to Mumbai, Kolkatta and Hyderabad also played a vital factor. Sarasuram adds, “The company is eyeing to enter into other major cities also and apart from ZICA, the company has started media training center with the association of Apple Computers Inc. The Apple authorised training center is first time in India.”

    The company has also increased the 3D animation department capacity to 200 per cent and thus the contribution from 3D animation is also more.

  • ZICA to launch its Kolkatta arm

    ZICA to launch its Kolkatta arm

    MUMBAI: Close on the heels of ‘Toonz Webel’ which recently set up the first animation school in the north east, Padmalaya ZICA (Zed institute of creative arts) has announced the opening of its Kolkatta branch.In an advertisement inserted in leading dailies across the country, the institute invited applications for its new batch going to class early august. Having trained over 600 students since its inception in 1995 and with branches already operating in Hyderabad and Mumbai, Kolkatta will be the institute’s third centre.

    On being asked about its new centre, ZICA director animation division Rajiv Sangari says, ” We have been considering opening up a branch in Kolkatta for quite some time now, we believe that there is a lot of art and culture in Bengal which holds immense potential for the animation industry.”

    Set over 4,000 sq feet, the institute shall boast of machines based on state of the art G5 Mac platform and software like MAYA, Shake and FCP.

    Sangari further adds, ” In response to our ad, on the first day itself we have received 450 calls, that too on a Sunday.” The total seats open are 160 with 50 each for Kolkatta and Hyderabad and 60 for Mumbai.

  • Padmalaya seeks 400 animators to execute new projects

    Padmalaya seeks 400 animators to execute new projects

    MUMBAI: The animation industry seems to be gearing up and how! With deals galore being signed, the Indian animation industry has its plates full.

    Padmalaya Telefilms, animation arm of media major Zee Telefilms, has clinched a hat-trick of deals in the last quarter. Great for Padmalaya no doubt but there is a problem of personnel (or should we say lack of it) that it is grappling with. In order to execute the deals, it needs around 400 animation industry professionals with different skill sets.

    In a leading daily, Padmalaya Telefilms has advertised a whole host of vacancies that need filling in order for it to be able to to execute its long term agreement with the US and European animation companies for producing more than 260 episodes of 2D and 3D animation projects. These being:
    1. Animation Directors – 2 
    2. Production Co-ordinators – 4 
    3. 2D Animators – 60 
    4. IB & Clean up Artists – 120 
    5. Layout and Background Artists – 12 
    6. 3D Animators – 70

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com last Friday, Padmalaya Telefilms executive director G V Narsimha Rao said, “A major concern for us is the lack of animators in the country. We have bagged all these contracts, but the implementation is a big apprehension for us. The dearth of animators in the industry is going to prove fatal if we don’t pull up our socks.”

    With the conclusion of an agreement in January to co-produce a number of TV series with US-based Cybergraphix Animation, Padmalaya Telefilms had also signed up a $ 14 million deal with Mondo TV for the co-production and licensing of animation series, at the recent MIP TV 2004 in Cannes.

    After its mega-deal with Mondo, Padmalaya also bagged another big order from Europe. Joining hands with Mallard Media of Scotland and Ealing Animation of UK to produce 52 episodes of 10 minutes each in a deal worth $ 5.2 million as reported earlier by indiantelevision.com.

    In an attempt to churn out more animators, Padmalaya – ZICA, a premier traditional and digital academy based currently in Hyderabad and Mumbai with a total capacity of 85 students is also going to be setting up its base in Calcutta. A launch of ZICA in other metros too is in the pipeline, as an impetus to attract and train more individuals for the animation industry per se.The good news is that the deal clinched by Padmalaya, for the first time in the history of the animation industry in India will hold 100 per cent licensing rights for the South Asian region, and 20 per cent licensing right for the rest of the world in the case of the Mondo TV and Cybergraphix Animation deal . Whereas in the case of the tripod arrangement with Mallard media and Ealing animation, the licensing rights are more that 30 per cent for Padmalaya in rest of the world and in the SAARC countries being 100 per cent.

    So while in one case, Padmalaya Telefilms seems to have got itself into a win-win-win situation although, one cannot discount the mammoth task in terms of delivering these projects on their due date, considering delivery is the most vital factor in the animation industry. Also, the lack of animators in the country seems to be posing itself as a big obstacle. Whether these high risk deals will actually materialize into high returns for Padmalaya and be a boost for the nascent Indian animation industry is quite another story that only time can tell.

  • Zee TV to launch DTH-specific kids channel Space Toons

    Zee TV to launch DTH-specific kids channel Space Toons

    CANNES: Zee TV group outfit Padmalya Telefilms will be developing a kids channel as part its relationship with Italian firm Mondo TV. The channel called Space Toons it is slated to launch some time in August.

    The channel has been designed as a formatted channel with different ‘planets’ representing various programming genres – Mercury for science, Mars for action etc. There will be a retail operation that extends the format brands into the Indian market. The announcement was made at MipTV in Cannes.

    According to Mondo’s vice-president Ricky Corradi the company is seriously interested in the Indian market. Its agreement with the Zee TV group includes an investment of $14 million in India, the production of four animation series in five years. Among the series that it will produce include Sindbad, Fab Five (26×30), and Panchatantra. In return Padmalaya will distribute Mondo’s library in India in a deal reputed to be in excess of $five million.

    The new channel will be put on the Zee TV group’s DishTV and Punit Goenka who heads the DTH platform says, “We are hungry for content and Mondo is one of the few companies in the world that has a library big enough to feed that hunger.”

    PADMALAYA STRIKES DEAL WITH MALLARD, EALING
    After its mega-deal with Mondo, Padmalaya has bagged another big order from Europe. It is joining hands with Mallard Media of Scotland and Ealing Animation of UK to produce 52 episodes of 10 minutes each in a deal worth $ 5.2 million.

    A new animation series from the Aberdeen-based Mallard Media relates to the various exploits of two highland bulls called Clootie and Dumpling, and was launched at the ongoing MIPTV.

    During MIPTV, Padmalaya , Ealing Animation and Mallard Media will be meeting with broadcasters and buyers interested in projects that have a strong merchandising potential combined with an underlying educational purpose.

  • Zee plans bonds issue to fund DTH, movies

    Zee plans bonds issue to fund DTH, movies

    MUMBAI: It has put all its fingers in as many pies and is gunning for more. Obviously, it needs funds to keep the mega plans going. So, Zee Telefilms is planning to raise funds through a bonds issue in the international market to finance its ongoing and upcoming ventures. Zee Telefilms director-finance Hitesh Vakil told indiantelevision.com that the company has secured RBI clearance to raise up to $ 90 million in funds by way of debt.

    The finance is being sought for multiple reasons. The media major is looking to infuse capital into conditional access equipment and its direct to home (DTH) venture that was soft launched by ASC Enterprises Ltd on 2 October 2003. Zee’s DTH platform is already operational and is marketing the network’s various channels.

    RBI clearance for raising up to $ 90 million obtained

    Applied towards
    Direct to home (DTH) venture
    Conditional access equipment
    Production of feature films by Zee’s Films Division
    Paying out high cost debts and the over-riding interest of Zee and its subsidiaries

    The funds would also be used for producing feature films made by the Zee Telefilms Ltd Films Division. Zee’s film division had started with the block buster Hindi film Gadar – Ek Prem Katha. Films Division CEO Nittin Keni had told indiantelevision.com in an interview earlier that three movies were in the pipeline – One Dollar Curry- an Indo-French production directed by Vijay Singh, Khosla Ka Ghosla with Anupam Kher and Bhagmati – a live animation film produced by the Zee Institute of creative Arts and directed by Ashok Kaul.

    The films will be distributed by the newly formed Zee Rajshri Film Distribution Company. The company is a tie-up between Zee Telefilms Ltd and Rajshri Pictures P Limited to manage distribution of all films produced or co-produced by Zee, Padmalaya and Rajshri. It will also provide a distribution platform for the entire film industry.

    Meanwhile Zee Telefilms is continuing on its ‘cleanliness drive’. The funds generated by the bonds issue will also be channeled towards paying out high cost debts of Zee and its subsidiaries. This, Vakil said, would help Zee save on high interest costs as well.

    Zee is going through an extensive reorganisation. In a meeting held on 15 December 2003, the Zee board had approved the merger of group companies ETC Networks and Econnect India Ltd as part of a larger corporate restructuring plan. Earlier in 2003, Zee had tried to clean up its balance sheets by writing off completely corroded investments in its subsidiaries Econnect and Zee Interactive Ltd.

    Recently, the company also went through an extensive portfolio reshuffle at the senior management level.

    The ZTL board had also approved the merger of five Mauritius based operating entities viz. Software Suppliers International Ltd (SSIL), Zee Telefilms International Ltd (ZTIL – syndication of ZTL content), Zee MGM (managing movie channel MGM), Expand Fast Holding Ltd, BVI (EFHL – providing satellite services to group broadcasting companies) and Asia TV (Africa) Ltd (marketing and distributing the Zee Network in Africa) with Asia Today Ltd, Mauritius (broadcasting of Zee TV and Zee Cinema).

    The fresh funds fit in well within the recent restructuring initiative taken up by Zee. This because once Zee gets rid of the high cost debts and the heavy interests riding on them, it would no doubt result in greater operating and cost efficiencies for Zee.