Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group in an official statement on Monday said that it will sell its entire stake in BIG FM Radio to Jagran Prakashan-owned Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL) for an estimated value of Rs 1,200 crore.

Reliance Capital and Reliance Land (that forms a part of Reliance Capital Group) will be divesting its entire equity stake in Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) to Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL).

The decision has been in line with Reliance AGAG's efforts to reduce its debt burden.

"This transaction is part of our overall strategy to reduce exposure in non-core businesses and will reduce our debt by an estimated Rs 1,200 crore," Reliance Capital CFO Amit Bapna said in a statement.

RBNL operates under the brand name BIG FM Radio network with 58 stations across the country.

MBL will initially acquire a 24 percent equity stake of RBNL by way of a preferential allotment for Rs 202 crore.

In a separate release, MBL said its board Monday approved the acquisition of RBNL.

The combined network will have 79 radio stations making it the largest radio network in the country, MBL said in a release. The entire transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of FY21.

In the last week, the ADAG exit from the mutual fund business by selling its stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) to its joint venture partner Japan's Nippon Life Insurance.

"Together with the recently announced stake sale in Reliance Nippon Asset Management for Rs 6,000 crore and other ongoing monetization plans, we expect RCap's debt to reduce by nearly Rs 12,000 crore (close to 70 percent) in the current financial year," Bapna said.

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