New Delhi Television Ltd has been valued by the market at around Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.50 billion), based on the company's projected paid-up capital base of over 5.11 crore (Rs 51.1 million) shares and the IPO price band of Rs 63-70 per share (Rs 4 face value).
The company will raise Rs 109 crore (Rs 1.09 billion) through the initial offering, which will consist of fresh shares and an offer for sale. NDTV is the third news broadcasting company after TV-18 and TV Today to hit the primary market.
At least 60 per cent of issue will be allocated to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), while 15 per cent will be offered to non-institutional buyers and the balance 25 per cent to retail bidders.
About 8.26 per cent of the issue is reserved for NDTV employees. The proceeds from the fresh issue, according to the company, would be used towards repayment of loans (Rs 20 crore in 2005), working capital requirements (Rs 20 crore) and general corporate purposes (Rs 15 crore).
The existing shareholders who are offering for sale their holding in the company include GS Television Holdings, GS Media Holdings, GS Communication s Holdings, Saffron Fund Inc, JF India Fund, JP Morgan Fleming India Investment Company (Mauritius) and SBI Capital Markets.
Prannoy Roy, chairman of NDTV, said: "There are lots of opportunities opening up and we have several growth plans in mind. As India enters an exciting growth phase, the media in general, and news broadcasting in particular, would significantly benefit from it." The company is also exploring the option of launching new channels.
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