Private equity funds General Atlantic, Blackstone and Warburg Pincus have shown interest in ICICI Venture’ 63% stake in Infomedia (formerly Tata Infomedia), the publisher of business directory Yellow Pages and some well-known niche magazines.
Given the fact that whoever buys the stake will have to make an open offer and also pay a controlling premium, the buyer should sell out upwards of Rs 400 crore. Infomedia’s market capitalisation is Rs 474 crore and its shares closed at Rs 240 at the BSE on Wednesday.
When contacted, the ICICI Venture spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on market speculation.” Infomedia India CEO Prakash Iyer could not be reached despite repeated attempts.
ICICI Venture acquired Tata’s 50% stake in Infomedia India in 2003 for Rs 123 core. It later acquired an additional 13% through an open offer.
Infomedia, with annual revenues of Rs 143 crore, is best known for its business directory service, the Yellow Pages. Tata Press, when it owned Infomedia, launched the Tata Press Yellow Pages in Mumbai and soon took the Yellow Pages culture to more than 20 cities across India.
An industry source pointed out that PE firms have shown interest in the company for its publishing outsourcing business and the growth it offers. The size of the publishing vertical in the BPO space is around $250 million.
Infomedia entered this business in December 2005 through the acquisition of Bangalore’s Cepha Imaging Systems and UK-based publishing company Keyword Group. The idea was to scale up operations, forge partnerships with international publishers and take advantage of India’s cost structure.
(source: Economic Times)
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