Direct-to-home (DTH) operators Dish TV and Videocon D2H will merge their operations into a single entity, both companies informed the stock exchanges yesterday. The transaction is expected to be closed by second half of 2017, though it is subject to approval from shareholders and market regulators.
Once combined, Dish TV will own a majority of 55% stake, while Videocon will have the remaining 45% in the combined entity, called Dish TV Videocon Limited. Jawahar Goel will be the Chairman and MD of the combined entity, which will have 27.6 million subscribers, of which 15.1 million are being contributed by Dish TV. The combined entity will have
Apart from this, the combined entity claims to have a revenue base of Rs 59,158 million and EBITDA margin of Rs 18,262 million as per estimates for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2016. Dish TV currently claims presence in 9,322 towns and Videocon D2H claims presence in 7,500 towns in India.
Dish TV is owned by the Zee group, which also owns the Internet based video distribution platform Ditto TV.
Videocon’s stalled IPO plans
Videocon D2H scrapped its IPO plans for a second time in April last year, after scrapping a different proposal earlier in in September 2014. It was looking to raise up to Rs 700 crore from that IPO. In January 2015, US-based Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp had acquired a 33.5% stake in Videocon d2h for about $300 million.
For the quarter ended September 30th 2016 (Q FY17) the company reported a total subscriber base of 12.52 million. The company claims an Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) rate of Rs 211. It reported total revenues of Rs 776.2 crore for the quarter, up 20% year on year and a net loss of Rs 148 crore during Q2 FY17.
Dish TV Financials
For the quarter ended September 2016 (Q2 FY17), Dish TV reported a total subscriber base of 15.1 million adding 0.259 million new subscribers during the quarter. The company claims an ARPU rate of Rs. 162. It reported total revenues of 779.3 crore for the quarter, up 9.6% year on year and net profit if Rs 70.1 crore during Q2 FY17.
Image Credits: BSE Filing
