ITV

Tag: jobstreet.com

  • Web 18 to acquire three internet companies

    Web 18 to acquire three internet companies

    MUMBAI: Television Eighteen India Ltd’s internet arm, Web 18, will be acquiring three internet companies — Cricketnext.com, Compareindia.com and Urban Eye, a web design and technology firm. The acquisitions will help the group consolidate its focus on the internet business further.

    “We are acquiring significant majority stakes in these three companies. With our financial portal Moneycontrol.com, we have built a global scale and size. We plan to soon replicate this with the new portals we have acquired,” says TV18 Group CEO Haresh Chawla.

    TV18, it is learnt, will allow the operations to be run by the old management. CricketNext.com co-founder and managing director Sanjay Jha agrees investments will be pumped in to scale up operations. “With our new partner, we will be able to considerably upscale our operations. We have parted with majority but will continue to run the operations,” he says. Cricketnext.com was in talks with strategic investors including TV broadcasters to dilute its stake. “We have commenced negotiations with TV channels. “We are also in negotiations with horizontal portals and telecom operators. Our role as a content aggregator has strategic value for the other media companies and telcos,” Jha had indiantelevision.com in May this year.

    TV18 is also eyeing acquisition of a matrimonial site as it plans to create a bouquet of vertical portals, a source in the company says.

    Cricketnext.com and Compareindia.com are in the retail consumer space. Cricketnext.com is a sports portal with a user base of over five million people whereas Compareindia is a product comparison site, with a user base of over two million people and offers a comprehensive product comparison engine with thousands of products over 50+ categories.

    These two portals will be able to complement some of the key television and internet properties of the TV 18 Group. Cricketnext.com will complement the group’s online news portal, ibnlive.com, and also CNN IBN and IBN7 television channels. Compareindia.com will synergise with moneycontrol.com. It will also draw synergies with Awaaz, the TV 18’s Hindi consumer-business offering on television.

    Urban Eye is a web design and technology firm, with over 50 specialised internet technology professionals, which will help Web18 scale up its operations rapidly.

    The companies are currently being restructured so as to align their operations to Web18. The two portals will be relaunched shortly.

    This is the second round of acquisitions that Web18 has announced. The company acquired a significant stake in Yatra.com and Jobstreet.com India a few months ago.

    The Indian Internet industry is on the verge of explosive growth. By 2008, the online user base is expected to grow to 100 million. TV 18 has been consistently growing its internet presence organically as well as through relevant acquisitions in the consumer internet space.

    “These acquisitions are in line with our strategy to strengthen our position in the consumer internet space. Web 18’s vision is to be the leader in the consumer internet space. We expect consumer focused services like online recruitment, financial services, travel services, product comparisons and home shopping, sports etc to drive the growth of the internet in India. We expect significant synergies and competitive advantage to emerge from this move,” adds Chawla.

    BMR & Associates acted as transaction advisors for TV 18 on this deal.

  • TV18 to provide VC funding to convergence companies, earmarks Rs 500 million

    TV18 to provide VC funding to convergence companies, earmarks Rs 500 million

    MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted Television Eighteen is jumping into the convergence arena. The company plans to invest Rs 500 million in this space, identifying small-sized ventures which need funding support.

    TV18 will function more as a venture capitalist, making investments into these companies at an early stage. “We realise there are opportunities in the convergence area of internet, TV, and broadband. Small companies engaged in this field are springing up. We plan to support them and make judicious investments spread over a string of companies. We have taken an enabling resolution to make investments in this space up to a maximum of Rs 500 million,” says a senior company executive.

    TV18 is setting up a Media Venture Capital Trust (MVCT) through which it will make these investments. The MVCT shall be suitably structured as a tax efficient investment vehicle for undertaking these investments and will offer co-investment opportunities to the promoters of the company and other identified reputed investors.

    The investments will be primarily in high growth companies. “TV18 will seek to invest, directly or indirectly minority stakes in these companies through repayment guaranteed / collateralized instruments convertible into equity, with an option to increase up to majority stake at a later date, wherever possible, subject to necessary provisions and approvals,” the company informed the BSE.

    Outside these investments, TV18 will continue to acquire vertical portals. The company, which has internet ventures being consolidated into a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired in April a 50 per cent stake in the Indian arm of Jobstreet.com. Eariler in the year, it had invested in Yatra Online where other investors included Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) – Promod Haque’s leading venture capital firm.

  • TV18, Balaji scrips shine on strong Q1 results

    TV18, Balaji scrips shine on strong Q1 results

    MUMBAI: This is a result investors may have been waiting for. Television Eighteen put up a robust first quarter performance, pulling the scrip up by Rs 13 to close today in the BSE at Rs 605 in a market that slipped 61 points after four days of continuous rise.

    On the television front, TV18 has doubled its revenues over the year-ago period while net profit has jumped 65 per cent to Rs 138.21 million. The company now has four channels – two in the business space and two general news channels.

    The Group’s internet business is also poised for a scale up, having crossed $1 million (Rs 46.75 million) in the quarter. TV18 is eyeing acquisitions and will soon re-launch jobstreet.com and yatra.com. The company has already announced plans to hive off the internet business which will make it attractive for strategic investors.

    “The scrip could lift up further, based on these results. The valuation of the internet business will also be interesting,” a market analyst says.

    Balaji Telefilms, which announced its first quarter results yesterday, is the other media scrip which climbed 4.34 per cent to close the day at Rs 109.45 in the BSE. Analysts say this was on the back of a 39 per cent jump in the TV content producer’s net profit to close the quarter at Rs 173.77 million.

    The market is yet to be enthused by UTV’s deal with Walt Disney Company, shedding marginally in the BSE to close 1.8 per cent down at Rs 168.65. The global media major had bought out Hungama TV and taken a 14.9 per cent stake in UTV for a total consideration of $44.5 million (approximately Rs 2 billion).

    “The scrip will gain value once Disney chalks out a joint plan with UTV. It is not clear yet where Disney wants to take UTV forward,” says a market analyst.

    Among the other media stocks to fall are Zee Telefilms (2.24 per cent to Rs 257.20) and NDTV (from Rs 156.2 to Rs 155.30). TV Today almost stayed flat to close at Rs 76.60.

  • TV18 net up 65% at Rs 138.21 million

    TV18 net up 65% at Rs 138.21 million

    MUMBAI: Television Eighteen’s consolidated net profit has shot up 65 per cent to Rs 138.21 million for the first quarter of this fiscal, as against Rs 83.51 in the year-ago period.

    TV18’s revenue has also seen a 55 per cent jump to stand at Rs 416.07 million. In the first quarter of FY06, the company’s turnover was Rs 269.17 million. Early this year, TV18 had picked up a stake in Jagran TV, the managers of the Hindi news channel –Channel7.

    Revenue from news operations rose to Rs 364.52 million, from Rs 257.31 million a year ago. TV18’s internet business has crossed $1 million during this quarter. The new media assets include the recent acquistion of jobstreet.com (Indian arm). The group plans to hive off its internet business this year.

    TV18’s operating profit has gone up 57 per cent to Rs 213.76 million, up from Rs 136.45 million. The company has maintained an operating margin of over 50 per cent.

    TV18’s restructuring scheme, which would make it compliant with the uplinking guidelines laid down by the government, has been approved by Delhi High Court.

    “Our revenues continue to show robust growth and we expect to benefit significantly from the increase in distribution platforms for our services – via DTH, broadband, digital cable and mobile,” Television Eighteen MD Raghav Bahl says: