MicroMax looking to dilute minor stake

MicroMax, the domestic mobile handset maker,is planning to offload minor stake in the company through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) or private placement of shares, a top company official has said.

“We are looking at dilution of equity either through an IPO or through private placement. Grand Thornton is our strategic advisor which had done the valuation of the company. We will start talks with the private equity firms after the third quarter for a minor equity sale,” COO Rahul Sharma, MicroMax Informatics told PTI.

Eventually, the company would go for listing, though the current market conditions were not good enough to go for it, Sharma said. The company’s valuation was not disclosed.

MicroMax, which started as an original equipment manufacturer for mobile companies, was targetting a revenue Rs 950-1,000 crore in the current fiscal from Rs 400 crore in the last fiscal, he said. The first quarter was likely to close with Rs 250 crore revenue, he added.

The handset maker, which claims to be selling about 500,000 handsets a month mostly in Tier II and Tier III cities in India, is taking advantage of the boom in the mobile market and expects the company’s valuation to soar accordingly. Industry sources said, Micromax was strengthening its presence in the volume segment. The company’s focus on non-urban markets where the next wave of demand for mobile phones would come from was a very positive marketing strategy.

India, the world’s fastest growing wireless market is adding approximately 15 million subscribers a month and all the big global service providers and handset players are present here.

According to industry estimates, the handset market is dominated by Nokia, followed by Samsung and then LG. Of late, there have been Indian players like BK Modi-owned Spice Mobiles.