MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h has been in the news for its proposed Rs 700 crore initial public offer (IPO) for long and now the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has asked for clarifications from the merchant banker of the DTH operator.  

While the last date on which communication by SEBI was issued or received was 2 January, the board, today, without disclosing the details said that the clarifications from lead manager (LM) are still awaited.  

The observations on the draft offer document may be issued by the board within 30 days from “the date of receipt of satisfactory reply from the lead merchant bankers, where the board has sought any clarification or additional information from them,” reads SEBI notice.

It was on 30 September that the board received the draft offer from Videocon d2h through its lead manager Axis Capital.

As per several media reports, while the DTH company has proposed IPO estimates to raise Rs 700 crore, it is also considering to mop-up Rs 50 crore through a pre-IPO placement of its shares to institutional investors.

“While the company has not disclosed the total number of shares to be sold in IPO, the pre-IPO placement could be of 50 lakh shares,” says a PTI report.

It was in October when Videocon d2h filed for its IPO. The company had then said that it plans to spend a portion of the Net Proceeds of the issue towards acquisition of set-top boxes, outdoor units and accessories thereof from TEL, a Videocon Group entity.

The company commenced DTH operations in July 2009 and has grown its subscriber base from 0.44 million gross subscribers as of 31 March 2010, to 11.21 million gross subscribers, as of 30 June 2014, which represents approximately 16.2 per cent of the total DTH subscriber base in India.