Oil and gas major Reliance Industries ( RIL) denied on Tuesday a media report that the company was interested in buying a stake in TV firm Network 18.
Shares in Network 18 jumped 20% in the early trade on Tuesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that Reliance head Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, was seeking to buy a stake.
'We deny that we have any interest in picking up a stake in Network 18,' a Reliance spokesman said.
He declined to comment on whether Ambani, with a personal wealth of $22.6 billion according to Forbes Magazine, was interested in acquiring a personal stake in the firm. The report, citing unnamed sources, was ambiguous on how the stake would be bought.