BackEssel Group raises Rs445 crore from institutional placements
Essel Group raises Rs445 crore from institutional placements
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Mumbai: The founders of Essel Group said they have raised Rs445 crore to help fund the expansion of group companies Dish TV India Ltd and Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd (WWIL).
The founders, led by chairman Subhash Chandra, have placed 38.4 million shares, or 9% of the equity, of newly-listed direct-to-home (DTH) broadcaster Dish TV with institutional investors, according to a statement.
“With this fundraising, our objective was to provide funds to both Dish TV and WWIL for their expansion plans," Chandra said in the statement.
“Subsequently, both these companies would raise financing through fresh issuance of equity capital," he added.
Enam Securities handled the placement, the statement said.
Dish TV, the country’s top private DTH operator, listed at Rs120 on its debut on Wednesday and ended the day at Rs102.55, after it was spun off from top-listed media firm Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.
Dish TV has nearly two million subscribers and expects to add a further eight million by 2010, with the average revenue-per-user growing at 10-12% a year.
India is set to become the top pay-television market in Asia-Pacific by 2015, with as many as 38 million DTH subscribers by then, according to industry estimates.
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