Sun TV Network, one of India’s leading media conglomerates, has moved to quell concerns arising from recent media reports detailing an alleged family feud within its promoter group. The company issued a formal statement today, Friday, June 20, 2025, robustly denying any business impact and labeling the reports as “incorrect, misleading, speculative, defamatory, and not supported by facts or law.”
The clarification comes amidst widespread news that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran has served a legal notice to his elder brother, Kalanithi Maran, who is the Chairman and Managing Director of Sun TV Network. Reports indicated that Dayanidhi Maran’s notice alleged fraudulent share allotments and corporate misgovernance dating back to 2003, accusing Kalanithi Maran of unlawfully gaining control of the company.
In its filing to the stock exchanges under SEBI Regulation 30, Sun TV Network stated, “The alleged matter dates back to 22 years, when the company was a closely held private limited Company. The statements allegedly made in the articles are incorrect, misleading, speculative, defamatory and not supported by facts or law. We wish to inform you that all acts have been done in accordance with legal obligations and the same had been duly vetted by concerned intermediaries before the public issue of the Company.”
Crucially, the company emphasized that the dispute is “purely personal in nature” and “does not have any bearing on the business of the Company or its day-to-day functioning.” This reassurance aims to calm investor sentiment, as Sun TV’s share price had reportedly seen some decline following the emergence of the family feud news.
Dayanidhi Maran’s legal notice, reportedly dated June 10, 2025, is said to have alleged that Kalanithi Maran allotted himself 1.2 million equity shares in Sun TV in 2003 at a face value of ₹10 each. Dayanidhi claims this was done without proper valuation, shareholder approval, or board resolutions, at a time when their father, Murasoli Maran, was critically ill. The notice reportedly sought restoration of the company’s shareholding structure to its pre-September 2003 status and the return of all alleged unlawful monetary benefits, including dividends amounting to thousands of crores.
However, Sun TV Network firmly rejected these accusations, maintaining that all actions were carried out in compliance with legal obligations and were thoroughly vetted by relevant intermediaries before the company went public. The company’s statement also mentioned that the board is not aware of “any negotiations/ events towards settlement in the promoter’s family,” and there is no information that is material to be disclosed under relevant listing regulations that would affect the company’s operations or performance.
Sun TV Network is a dominant force in the South Indian media landscape, operating 37 TV channels, 69 radio stations, three daily newspapers, and owning the IPL team SunRisers Hyderabad through its film division, Sun Pictures. Despite the external scrutiny, the company asserts its operations remain unaffected, focusing on its core business and content delivery across its vast network.
Key Highlights:
- Sun TV Network has officially denied that reports of a family feud within its promoter group have any impact on the company’s business or daily functioning, labeling the claims as “incorrect, misleading, speculative, defamatory, and not supported by facts or law.”
- The alleged dispute, reportedly involving a legal notice from Dayanidhi Maran to his elder brother Kalanithi Maran concerning share allotments from 2003, is stated by Sun TV to be a “purely personal matter” dating back 22 years.
- Sun TV asserts that all past actions related to share allotments were in accordance with legal obligations and vetted by intermediaries before the company’s public issue.
- The company’s clarification aims to reassure investors amidst concerns that the dispute could affect the media conglomerate’s operations.