Marketing 2.0: Digital Transformation - Niche to Mainstream - 14th Nov, Taj President, Mumbai

You’re invited to join MediaNama and 9.9 Media for the Marketing 2.0 Conclave being held in Mumbai:

Topic: Digital Transformation - Niche to Mainstream
Date: 14th November
Time: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Venue: Taj President, 90, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai
Agenda: Download (pdf) 

To attend: Register here
To sponsor: mail advertising@medianama.com or call Umang at +919999000785

The discussion will focus on understanding how CMOs can leverage digital media like Mobile, Internet, Blogs and Communities, and we’re expecting participation from senior marketing professionals and decision makers from across FMCG, Auto, Telecom, Consumer Durables, Technology companies etc. Speaking at the conference, apart from yours truly, are:

Greg Verdino, Chief Strategy Officer, Crayon Consulting Group 
Ireena Vittal, Partner, McKinsey & Company
Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman and CMO of Rediff.com
Santosh Desai, MD & CEO of Future Brands
Debabrata Mukherjee, Director Marketing, Coca-Cola Korea
Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, Group M
Partha Rakshit, MD South Asia, Nielsen
Mahesh Murthy, Founder & CEO of Pinstorm
Rajiv Hiranandani, Co-Founder and ED (Revenues) of Mobile2Win
Manish Vij, Co-Founder & CBO of Quasar Media

9.9 Media Raises $7.5 Million From Helion & TVS Shriram; Jasubhai Exits

Updated below

It’s official: 9.9 Mediaworx, the media company founded by former ABP MD & CEO Pramath Raj Sinha, and former ABP execs including Vikas Gupta, Kanak Ghosh, Asheesh Gupta and Anuradha Das Mathur, has received around $7.5 million from Helion Ventures and TVS Shriram Growth Fund. Sanjeev Aggarwal, MD of Helion, and Gopal Srinivasan, CMD of TVS Capital, will join the 9.9 Media Board.

According to the release, a group of angel investors including Rajat Gupta, former Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company, had invested in 9.9 Mediaworx, but there’s nothing on whether they have exited or not. 9.9 Media had, last December, acquired Jasubhai Digital Media from the Jasubhai group in a no-cash, all stock deal.

When we had spoken to Sinha about 9.9 Media raising Rs. 33.97 crores in VC funding last month (the same deal), he had declined to comment on whether 9.9 Media will use the funds raised to buy out Jasubhai’s stake, saying that the company will use the money to invest in existing properties, bring in international publications, and launch more magazines. Our sources maintain that with this round of fund-raising, Jasubhai will exit.

More from our interview with Sinha, here.

VCCircle had followed up with a story, reporting that Helion and a group of NRI investors had picked up 49.25 percent stake. They are now postulating that with TVS also on board, a majority stake in 9.9 Media is held by its investors. Readers should bear in mind that this is as yet unconfirmed, and we’ve contacted 9.9 Media for a confirmation of this and the Jasubhai exit.

Update: We’ve just received an update from Pramath Raj Sinha, MD of 9.9 Mediaworx: he says that reports on the amount of divestment are not accurate. “Obviously, I cannot share shareholding, but we (founders) are clearly in majority.” He declined to comment on the Jasubhai exit.

Related:
- 9.9 Media To Raise $7.31 Million In VC Funding; Jasubhai May Exit

9.9 Media To Raise $7.31 Million In VC Funding; Jasubhai May Exit

Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx (9.9 Media), the company which acquired Jasubhai Digital Media, has raised Rs. 33.97 Crores (around $7.31 million at the current rate) in Venture Capital investment, MediaNama has learned.

Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder and MD of 9.9 Media has confirmed to MediaNama that they are raising around $7.31 Million in funding, but has declined to name the investor. 9.9 Media has received an approval for the same amount in FDI from FIPB.

9.9 Media had acquired Jasubhai Digital Media in December last year - a 100 percent, all stock deal, with the Jasubhai Group getting stake in 9.9 Digital Media. The group owns digital properties like Digit, SKOAR and events like Industry 2.0 and the CTO Forum. Sinha declined to confirm or deny whether the money will be used to buy out Jasubhai’s stake in the venture, only saying that it “May happen”.

Plans: Sinha said that the money will be invested in existing properties - as well as bringing in international publications. Remember that 9.9 Media had mentioned last year that they’ll be bringing a foreign magazine to India. 9.9 Media also plans to launch a few more magazines in the coming months.

More on what the company has been working on, since acquiring Jasubhai Digital -

(more…)