Sanmarg Group acquires Tehelka.com

Sanmarg Private Limited has acquired a 100 per cent stake in Tehelka.com Private Limited, marking its entry into the magazine segment and adding to its presence in the digital media landscape, according to a company statement. The group, which publishes a prominent Hindi daily, said it plans to invest further in Tehelka and intends to make the hitherto fortnightly magazine into a weekly publication and will continue to publish in both print and digital formats. 

Sanmarg has made the acquisition from a group of investors who acquired the entire shareholding of Tehelka.com in 2017. These investors also successfully gave an exit to Tarun Tejpal and other minor investors. 

There have been no fresh litigations since their takeover. They also confirmed no involvement in any capacity of Tejpal in Tehelka or its operations, the press statement said. Tejpal was earlier forced to step aside as editor after a sexual assault allegation by a colleague; he was later convicted and sentenced. 

Sanmarg Group said it completed 100 per cent of the acquisition in October this year of Tehelka.com from these investors, along with all assets therein, both print, digital, and IP since 2017. Arvind Chaturvedi has been appointed the new chief editor to head the publication. The press statement also said that the erstwhile owner, Anant Media Pvt Ltd, will fight all previous litigations in which Tehelka was involved. 

Anant Media also has the sole responsibility for the earlier guarantees as well. The press statement said that the lifetime subscribers of Tehelka shall continue to receive copies and digital subscription access, as applicable. 

"We also want to fully comply with all government rules and regulations, and all applicable rules, standards and regulations as they stand today, to make a meaningful experience of serious journalism for the Indian public," the statement added. Headquartered in Kolkata, Sanmarg is Eastern India's largest Hindi media network.