TV 9 sale is now confirmed. Ch Srinivasa Raju, known as Srini Raju, whose iLabs owns 80 percent state in Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd, revealed that the exit was expected to be completed by in a month.
His bankers are in discussions for the sale with around half a dozen companies which have media background, Srini Raju claimed.
iLabs and other investors hold 80 per cent of stakes in ABCL, while Ravi Prakash, CEO of TV9 and other management team hold 20 per cent stakes.
TV 9 bouquet has 7 regional channels in various languages, two in Telugu, one in Kannada, one in English for Karnataka, and one each for Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is reportedly planning to launch three new channels in next one year, one for the Delhi NCR region, a Tamil channel and a Telugu entertainment channel.
Raju invested nearly Rs 100 crores in tranches since he had launched TV9 in Telugu way back in 2004. The going price is expected to be in the range of Rs 400-500 crores.
The overall returns, expected to be three to four times on investment, are not big because of the 8 years in the business, says Srini Raju.
“The process is on. There are half a dozen companies that are interested and all of them have connections with media. I signed an agreement with bankers. So they are holding discussions with banks. The exit will be completed before March 31. It could happen in January also,” Raju told a news agency.
