Videocon Group’s direct-to-home (DTH) arm Videocon d2h has once again scrapped its IPO plans, apparently to start the process from scratch, reports Moneycontrol.com. The report mentions that the company withdrew the application through its lead banker Axis Bank on March 27. Videocon d2h had re-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI for an IPO, in September last year, and was looking to raise up to Rs 700 crore through this offering. It was also planning to raise up to Rs 50 crore through a pre-IPO placement of up to 5 million shares, with a face value of Rs 10 each.
This development follows Videocon d2h’s listing on the NASDAQ, earlier this month. It raised about $325 million by issuing American Depository Receipts (ADRs). Note that US-based Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp had acquired a 33.5% stake in Videocon d2h for about $300 million, in January this year. The equity shares sold by Videocon d2h were represented by ADRs, which were distributed to Silver Eagle shareholders during Videocon d2h’s NASDAQ listing.
It’s worth noting that Videocon’s executive director Saurabh Pradipkumar Dhoot told CNBC-TV18 that the company would like to be listed in India as well after NASDAQ but they don’t have a timeframe at present. Videocon d2h had previously filed for an IPO in December 2012 and had also received SEBI approval in March 2013. However, it hadn’t gone ahead with the offering due to unfavourable market conditions.
Videocon d2h commenced DTH operations in India in July 2009 and has since grown to a gross subscriber base of 11.8 million and a market share of 16.5% in the Indian DTH market, as of September 30, 2014. The company had reported a total income of Rs 1,760.8 crore for the year ended March 31, 2014, up from Rs 1,120.5 crore in the previous year. The losses however had moderately improved to Rs 469.4 crore for the year, as compared to Rs 515.1 crore in the previous year.
