Indian satellite television broadcaster Videocon d2h has completed its initial listing on the NASDAQ exchange to become the first US-listed Indian pay-TV operator.
The flotation was achieved through a merger with Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp, the…
Indian satellite television broadcaster Videocon d2h has completed its initial listing on the NASDAQ exchange to become the first US-listed Indian pay-TV operator.
The flotation was achieved through a merger with Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp, the special purpose acquisition company set up by media veterans Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky.
Silver Eagle’s stockholders contributed around US$273.3m to Videocon d2h in exchange for American Depositary Shares worth 38.6% in the company.
Videocon d2h issued a total of US$325m of ADSs giving it a market capitalization of US$1.15bn.
Following the first day of trading on 1 April, the 37.75 million Videocon d2h ADSs issued to Silver Eagle shareholders were valued at approximately US$453m based on the opening price of US$12.00 per ADS.
Commenting on the deal, Sloan said: “US investor interest in the transaction has been strong as it affords US investors the opportunity to participate early in the US listing of Videocon d2h, which is the fastest growing DTH Pay-TV operator in India, the fastest growing pay TV market in the world.
“Beyond this very significant organic growth, we will be exploring numerous possibilities for the company to expand as a force in India’s developing media business.”
Videocon d2h began offering DTH services in July 2009 and has since grown to a gross subscriber base of 11.8 million, representing 16.5% of the Indian DTH market as of 30 September 2014. The company was the first to offer HD channels in the country and now distributes over 500 digital television channels.
Videocon has been eyeing an initial public offering of its DTH unit since late 2012 with the intention of selling a minority stake in it. In March 2013, the group received approval from the market regulator to go ahead with a proposed Rs7bn (US$117.2m) listing but the process was put on ice because of poor market conditions.
The plan was then revived in mid-2014 with Axis Capital mandated to manage the flotation and this ultimately led to the deal with Silver Eagle.
