Pritish Nandy Comm To Hive Off Moksh Into Arm

Pritish Nandy Communications will hive of its "Moksh" brand of fitness-cum-entertainment centres into a different subsidiary, the company has intimated the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Pritish Nandy, chairman, Pritish Nandy Communications, said: "We have retained J M Morgan Stanley as our advisors on the issue of subsidiarisation of Moksh into a separate company. We are contemplating the hiving off of this segment since there is a feeling among some of our investors that this being a more brick-and-mortar business it is a separate line of business requiring different set of skills."

The company would be conducting a postal ballot to seek shareholders' approval on the plan soon. Nandy also said that there was a set of investors who were keen on investing only in the fitness-cum-entertainment segment and this being a capital intensive area it was considered prudent to manage it separately.

"If we want to grow in this segment, then subsidiarisation is the best option. This would enable the brand to grow bigger and faster," he added.

The company is also planning to franchise the Moksh brand and has planned one more centre in Mumbai and another one in Delhi which would be opened shortly.

The company is also planning an overseas foray and is considering opening up centres in the US. "There have also been overseas enquiries and very shortly we may franchise such centres in New York and Los Angeles," said Nandy.

According to Nandy, the Moksh subsidiary would be 100 per cent owned in the beginning but a stake divestment to some strategic investors should be considered at a later date so as to enhance shareholder value to the current shareholders.