Reliance MediaWorks gets board nod to raise Rs 600 cr

Reliance MediaWorks (RMW) on Wednesday said its board has approved raising up to Rs 600 crore by way of rights issue to “substantially reduce the debt” of the company. The funds raised through rights issue would be utilised, inter alia, for substantially reducing the debt of the company, it added. The company's current liabilities stood at Rs 2,317.31 crore as of March 31, 2012. Last week, the company had said it will raise Rs 605 crore from a foreign private equity fund to acquire a substantial minority stake in RMW's Film and Media Services division.

RMW operates three businesses -- film distribution under BIG Cinemas, TV production unit under BIG Synergy, and a film and media services segment. "Over the past three years, RMW has made strategic investments and scaled business operations to become an end-to-end integrated service provider across the entire film and media services value chain," it said. RMW is in the process of subsidiarisation of its exhibition and film and media services divisions, to pursue strategic growth opportunities and expand its business. The subsidiarisation step is aimed at garnering fresh investment in the company's specific business verticals, it said.