Network18, leading media firm and publisher of the nation’s largest read Hindi daily ‘Dainik Jagran’ Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL) have formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to publish a business newspaper in Hindi.

Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of Network18 said, "In recent years, business audiences have grown immensely in the Hindi heartland and regional markets, reflecting a democratisation of enterprise and wealth creation across the nation. We are delighted to partner Jagran Prakashan as it will allow us to fulfill this need powerfully in the print space, by combining TV18's strengths in business content with Jagran's intimate understanding of print markets."

The deal will help Network18 to access the distribution network of Jagran, a crucial piece in the print business.

The JV will be governed by a board, comprising of representatives from the company and Jagran Prakashan, which will oversee management plans and execution. It will be funded through an initial equity infusion from both sides followed by internal accruals & debt financing in the later stage.

Sanjay Gupta, CEO of JPL said, “The Indian economy is growing at a significant pace. There is a growing interest in the overall business environment and stock markets among people in tier I and tier II towns. But there is no newspaper catering to this consumer group. It is, thus, the most opportune time to fill this space.”

The JV plans to launch Hindi business daily in 2008.

At 2:10 PM, the stock was trading at Rs 472.65, up Rs 6.95 or 1.49 %. About 16,739 shares exchanged hands in the counter. The price touched intraday high of Rs 498 and low of Rs 465.