In an update to the Amar Chitra Katha funding, Future Ventures India Ltd., the investment and business management firm, has upped its holdings to 65.84% from an earlier 56% in its subsidiary, edutainment company, ACK Media, after a buyback offer of 70,457 equity shares was accepted by its shareholders. Future Ventures informed the Bombay Stock Exchange about the move in a recent filing.
This comes in exactly an year after Future Ventures first picked up stakes of 26% in ACK, worth Rs 37.5 crores, in April 2011, valuing the firm at Rs 140 crores and followed it with an acquisition of a further 30% stakes, increasing its holdings to 56% by July. Other investors in the privately owned ACK Media includes Elephant Capital that owns 26.1% stake worth Rs. 27-28 crores of investment in the company that houses titles like Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle etc.
In other developments, the Mumbai-based ACK Media recently announced a partnership with National Geographic Society to publish Indian editions of National Geographic (NGM), National Geographic Traveler (NGT) and National Geographic Kids magazines since the international editions of NGM and NGT were already being distributed in India by India Book House, an acquisition of ACK. This will give ACK Media publication as well as distribution control of Nat-Geo magazines in India, that will now also include localized content. The first edition of these magazines are expected to hit stands by midyear.
The company recently also promoted their Head of Direct to Customers (D2C) department to the position of COO with the aim of developing more proprietary characters like Suppandi etc. and developing the advertising sales part of the business following the partnership with the Future Group.
