MUMBAI: CNN-IBN, the TV18 Broadcast owned English news channel, has appointed Vishal Bhatnagar as National Revenue Head, with immediate effect. He was earlier SVP & Regional Head-North & East, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz.

The move is a part of the leadership re-alignment now underway at Network18 News Media, the client facing ad sales unit, which manages the advertising interests of the news and factual entertainment channels at Network18 Group.

As is known, Network18 News Media spearheads the group‘s effort towards consolidating and optimising revenue growth across its six news & factual entertainment channels (CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz, CNN-IBN, IBN7, IBN-Lokmat and History TV18) spanning the full spectrum of general news, business news, regional news and factual entertainment.

Ad sales for the ETV regional news network, subject to regulatory approvals for the acquisition, will also form part of this stable. While acting as a centralised sales agency, Network18 News Media also reflects the group‘s focus on individual brands via dedicated teams and revenue leaders aligned to each channel.

Commenting on the larger re-alignment, Network18 News Media CEO Sanjay Duasaid, "We believe that our brands are well-placed to build further on their leadership, both in terms of innovative client solutions as well as a strong network proposition. Each of our leaders has a proven track record and strong leadership acumen and we‘re confident that this alignment is the beginning of a new phase of growth for us."

Bhatnagar brings with him over 18 years of rich experience in sales across media and has been with the Network18 Group since 2004. He holds degrees in management and commerce from the International Management Institute (IMI) and the University of Delhi.

MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl has taken the next big step to infuse capital into his two debt-laden leading companies and fund the acquisition of Hyderabad-based ETV that would help him spread his media empire into the fast-growing regional markets of India with the support of cash-rich Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

After getting the Sebi nod for going ahead with the rights issue, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd and TV18 Broadcast Ltd on Friday fixed the the price of their rights issues at a discount to their closing prices to raise Rs 26.99 billion each.

Network18 is offering 307 shares for every 50 shares at a price of Rs 30 per share, a discount of 5.66 per cent to its closing price of Rs 31.80 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

TV18 is offering 41 shares for every 11 shares held at a price of Rs 20 per share, a discount of 4.76 per cent to its closing price of Rs 21 on the NSE.

Since Network18 group owns 59.76 per cent of TV18, the net capital raised from the rights issues will be Rs 43.12 billion.

The funds to be raised from the rights issues are meant for TV18?s acquisition of ETV news and general entertainment channels, except the Telugu GEC from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for Rs 21 billion. RIL will fund the Network18 promoter companies for subscribing to the rights issues and in exchange will get optionally convertible debentures issued by the promoter companies.

RIL will lend a minimum of Rs 17 billion through investments in optionally convertible debentures. If none of the non-promoter shareholders subscribe to the rights issue, RIL will have to lend Rs 43.12 billion to Network18 promoters to ensure both the rights issues go through.

The record date for Network18 shareholders is 12 September and for TV18 shareholders is 17 September. The Network18 rights issue will open on 18 September 18 and close on 4 October, while that of TV18 will open on 25 September and close on 15 October.

Both the issues are huge compared to their market capitalisation as of Friday. Network 18?s rights issue is nearly six times its market capitalisation of Rs 4.61 billion and that of TV18 is nearly 3.5 times the market capitalisation of Rs 7.78 billion.
 

MUMBAI: The path has been cleared for Network18 Media and Investments Ltd and TV18 Broadcast Ltd to raise Rs 27 billion each through rights issues.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) gave its observations on 17 August on the draft offer documents filed by Network18 and TV18 in March 2012. The companies now are required to go ahead with their rights issues within a year from the date of the observations.

Observations by Sebi are conveyed after the regulator seeks any clarifications it requires from the issuer. This basically allows a company to go ahead with its issue but is not a clearance or approval of the issue.

The funds are proposed to be raised for TV18?s acquisition of ETV news and general entertainment channels, except the Telugu GEC from Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for Rs 21 billion. RIL will fund the Network18 promoter companies for subscribing to the rights issues and in exchange will get optionally convertible debentures issued by the promoter companies.

The promoter companies of Network18 will need to invest Rs 17 billion to subscribe to their portion of the rights issue. The Network18 group has undertaken to subscribe to any unsubscribed portion of the rights issue in either of the companies.

RIL will lend a minimum of Rs 17 billion in the debentures. If none of the non-promoter shareholders subscribe to the rights issue, RIL will lend Rs 40 billion to Network18 promoters to ensure both the rights issues go through.

Since Network18 owns 50 per cent of TV18, the net capital raised from the rights issues will be Rs 40 billion.

MUMBAI: Network18 Publishing has elevated EVP- Sales Mukhtar Qureshi to COO for Business Directories Division. The Business Directories Division portfolio includes multi-city editions of Yellow Pages business directories, Machine Tool Guide, Indian Exporters Guide, Construction and Interior Design Guide, Industries State Guide and Motor Pumps and Valves directories.

Network18 Publishing CEO Sandeep Khosla said, "The Business Directories Division, especially its yellow pages stable, is core to our growth plans for Network18 Publishing. As we scale up and expand our suite of products and services across touch points, Mukhtar?s proven track record and unparalleled experience in this space will be critical for us. I look forward to working closely with him as we further strengthen our leadership in the business directories space."

Qureshi added, "At the Business Directories Division, we?ll continue to be focused on fulfilling the growing aspirations of the Indian SME. Our widespread presence under the Yellow Pages umbrella and deep customer relationships provides us with an enormous opportunity to diversify our offerings and innovate through integrated media solutions. It?s been an exciting journey so far and I hope to build further on it going forward."

Qureshi brings with him over 21 years of experience in sales and operations. He had joined Infomedia18 in 2005 as deputy general manager. He was later elevated to Vice president - sales in April 2008 and then to EVP-sales in October 2008. Prior to joining Infomedia18, he had also worked with Tata Press and Tata Infomedia.

Infomedia18?s publishing business, recently demerged and consolidated within Network18 under ?Network18 Publishing?, encompasses three divisions of Infomedia18?s publishing business - Business to Consumer (B2C) magazines, Business to Business (B2B) magazines and Business Directories Division.

MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted Network18 has demerged and consolidated the publishing business of Infomedia18 under ?Network18 Publishing? as per the scheme of demerger approved by the High Court of Delhi in 2011.

The printing press business will continue to remain with Infomedia18.

As per scheme of arrangement, Network18 was to issue and allot to the shareholders of Infomedia18 as on the record date, 7 (Seven) equity shares of Rs 5 each of Network18 for every 50 shares of Rs 10 each of Infomedia18. Meanwhile, shareholders of Infomedia18 will continue to hold their original shareholding in Infomedia18.

With the scheme in place, Network18 Publishing will encompass three divisions of Infomedia18?s publishing business - Business to Consumer (B2C) magazines, Business to Business (B2B) magazines and Business Directories Division (BDD).

In B2C, the titles that will now come under the Network18 Publishing umbrella are Overdrive, Overdrive Hindi, Entrepreneur, Better Photography, Better Photography Hindi, Better Interiors, CHIP, T3, AVMAX. In B2B- Search, Auto Monitor, Modern Machine Tools, Chemical World, Modern Plastics & Polymers, Modern Packaging & Design, Modern Medicare, Modern Pharmaceuticals, Modern Food Processing, Smart Logistics and Aftermarket will be part of Network18 Publishing. Meanwhile in Business Directories- Multi-city editions of Yellow Pages Business Directories, Machine Tool Guide, Indian Exporters Guide, Construction and Interior Design Guide, Industries State Guide and Motor Pumps & Valves directories will be now under Network18 Publishing.

Additionally, Network18 Publishing will also manage production and circulation operations for titles from the Forbes India stable which currently includes Forbes India and Forbes Life India.

Network18 Group CEO B Sai Kumar said, "We believe that the special interest and B2B spaces will be one of the key drivers for publishing in India, both in print and new media. With Network18 Publishing, we?ve aligned our assets to capitalize on this trend both from a community building as well as a commercial perspective. Going forward, as publishing models develop, this alignment will significantly enhance our market proposition."

Sandeep Khosla, who was earlier CEO-Publishing at Infomedia18 will be heading the new devision as its CEO.

Khosla added, "As Network18 Publishing, our growth strategy will evolve in line with an increasingly multi-platform publishing environment. Considering the strong traction of our brands in key consumer and business communities, our focus will be on leveraging this across areas including print, new media, on-ground activation and value-added services. We hope to build on this further by maximising synergies with group platforms and in the process deepen engagement with our audiences and aid monetisation of our brands."