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Mallya buys up American media group

Vijay Mallya, chairman of the UB group of companies, has become the first Indian to buy an American newspaper.

He closed the deal on Monday for the purchase of the five Marin Scope group of newspapers at the office of Marron Reid, the well-known law firm in San Francisco.

Mallya will now be chairman and publisher of Marin Scope, Mill Valley Herald, Ross Valley Reporter, San Rafael News Pointer and Twin Cities Times, community newspapers in some of the richest counties in California and the United States. Marin Scope appears in Marin country, which is said to have the highest per capita income in the United States.

Well-known journalist M J Akbar will be vice-chairman of the company as well as the editor-in-chief of all the publications. Billie Anderson will be the managing editor of the newspapers while previous owner Paul Anderson will remain a director of the company.

Mallya, who has made Sausalito into a second home after Bangalore, is also planning to launch before the end of this year The Asian Age to cater to the Indian and South Asian community in the US and Canada. This will also be edited initially from California.

Mallya, who has established a strong business presence in the United States by purchasing a string of breweries and his Pittsburgh-based software company Ubics, said his entry into American media represented a significant step forward in his plans.

He said the Marin Scope papers would continue to serve the local community with ''verve, involvement and even greater professionalism.''

UNI