Publishing firm Infomedia 18 Ltd has acquired local reviews website Burrp! for an undisclosed amount. Burrp! was one of the first few local information websites launched in the Indian market in the last three years. Burrp! describes itself as a "fun way to find and share your views on local stuff, ranging from restaurants to bars; cafes to roadside stalls". It contains reviews for eight cities as of now which include Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata. In a communication to the stock exchanges, the Network 18 group-owned company said that it has "acquired the local information and social media business of burrpl Software Pvt Ltd on going concern basis including the 'burrpl' brand". The acquisition came into effect from March 15, 2009.
"The management believes that the said acquisition will create an important asset for the company's local search initiatives in the emerging media space," Infomedia said in the statement.
Burrp! has angel investment from, among others, Haresh Chawla, CEO of Network 18 Group, which also owns Infomedia. The company was founded by US returnees Deap Ubhi and Anand Jain. Ubhi was previously a senior associate at Alpine Investors in San Francisco before he turned an entrepreneur. The company was also reportedly in the market to raise $6 million two years ago, however, it a VC round did not materialise.
Burrp!'s competition in Indian market includes Ask Laila, which raised two rounds of venture capital funding from Matrix Partners India and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Showing posts with label infomedia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infomedia. Show all posts
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Thursday, September 6, 2007
PE biggies line up for ICICI pie in Infomedia
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)
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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