Ybrant to go public in in mid FY 2011

Ybrant Digital, a Hyderabad-based provider of digital marketing solutions, is planning to go ahead with its initial public offering (IPO) by the middle of the next financial year (FY11), said its chairman and chief executive Suresh Reddy.

The company had filed its draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in September 2007 to issue 3.5 million shares equivalent to 15.58 per cent of the company’s equity.

“The markets then were not so lucrative and hence we had put on hold our IPO plans. We are now watching the markets and are readying ourselves to continue with our acquisition-led growth strategy,” Reddy told the media here on Thursday.

To complete its capability matrix, Ybrant is currently evaluating an acquisition opportunity in search marketing, affiliate marketing and content-based business space in the US. “We have a few target companies in the pipeline and we will go for a pre-IPO placement to fund the deal,” Reddy said, while declining to divulge the quantum of money that the company intends to raise.

So far, Ybrant had raised $55 million (Rs 253) crore from private equity players like New York-based Sansar Capital and GE Capital Asia-Pacific, and four hedge funds.

Once through, this will be Ybrant’s sixth buyout. In 2006, Ybrant had acquired Serbia-based Seenietix’s flagship email marketing platform VoloMP and US-based MediosOne for undisclosed amounts. In 2007, it acquired US-based online ad-network company AdDynamix for $10 million (about Rs 46 crore) and Israeli company Oridian for $13 million (Rs 60 crore). Early 2009, it bought dream ad, an Argentine advertising network company, in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed sum.

The company today launched its local search platform ‘YReach’, through which users can have access to an array of products and services ranging from food and grocery, home care, apparel and accessories, consumer durables, automotive and lifestyle products.

“We are first launching this product from Hyderabad with six offerings – shopping, reviews, classifieds, coupons, movies and events – and plan to add more as we go. We currently have close to 200,000 businesses in our network,” Reddy said, adding the company plans to go across the country with the product shortly.

Ybrant reported revenues of $58 million (Rs 266.8 crore) in the last financial year. Its outlook for the current fiscal is around $70 million (Rs 322 crore), said chief financial officer Amreek Singh Sandhu.