Hindustan Media Ventures' Rs 300 cr IPO in three months

Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd, the publisher of Hindi daily 'Hindustan', is likely to launch its initial public offer in the next three months to raise Rs 300 crore to fund expansion.

The firm, an arm of HT Media, which publishes leading English daily 'The Hindustan Times', has already filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the maiden public issue.

"In the past two years, we have been expanding rapidly in our existing markets, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and the National Capital Region. We intend to intensify this expansion, besides exploring new markets, and hence, we are looking to raise about Rs 300 crore through the IPO," Hindustan Media Ventures CEO Amit Chopra told PTI.

He said since the company will be going through the book building process, the amount of stake dilution through the IPO will depend on the price band.

"We have filed only the DRHP and are yet to file the Red Herring Prospectus, so it's a bit early to say how much stake could be diluted in the IPO," Chopra said.
   
 The company had an equity share capital of Rs 7 crore and a net worth of Rs 17 crore as on December 31, 2009. The proceeds of the IPO will be utilised in scaling up operations, he said, adding the public issue is likely to materialise in the next three months.
    
"At present, we have 16 printing locations in the states that we are present in, of which four had been set up in the last two years. It shows the pace at which we are expanding," he said, but declined to share details on future expansion plans, citing regulatory restrictions.

"I can say that much that we will be expanding our printing capacity," he said.