The process to auction off United News of India agency has begun. Among the five groups that have lined up to bid for it are Gautam Adani’s brother-in-law Rakesh Ramanlal Shah and BJP MP MJ Akbar.

Newslaundry learned that five entities will participate in the bidding process, which is expected to take two or three months. They are The Statesman newspaper, the Brain Trust of India, Kolkata-based Four Square Infrastructure, former Chauthi Duniya editor Santosh Bhartia, and Rakesh Ramanlal Shah.

A source familiar with the bids told Newslaundry that MJ Akbar will participate in the process as a representative of the Brain Trust of India. Shah is the chairman and managing director of Gujarat State Export Corporation Ltd. He is married to Gautam Adani’s sister Prity.

Once the bidding process ends, UNI’s new ownership will be decided, the source said. Employees and officials of the news agency speculated that Shah is likely to win – though this is merely speculation. But it’s worth remembering that Shah’s brother-in-law acquired both NDTV and IANS in the past year.

As for UNI, the agency has been running at a loss for several years. It began defaulting on payments to employees from 2017. The final blow came in 2020 when state broadcaster Prasar Bharati unsubscribed its services, taking away crores of annual revenue. 

In May last year, the National Company Law Tribunal passed an order in favour of UNI’s union which alleged the agency had defaulted on payments worth Rs 103 crore. The NCLT appointed an insolvency resolution professional, Pooja Bahry, to manage the process.

On the bids for UNI, Bahry told Newslaundry: “Many people are showing interest in UNI. Currently, the process is ongoing. No name has been decided yet…However, UNI will revive soon.”

Newslaundry reported on the slow death of UNI, and why employees and shareholders are praying for a “last shot”. Read all about it here.

This report was first published in Newslaundry Hindi. It was translated to English by Shardool Katyayan.

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