Mumbai: Balaji Telefilms is all set to raise Rs 150 crore for its OTT venture ALT Digital Media through preferential issue of equity shares to select marquee global investors.
The Board of Directors of Balaji Telefilms has considered and approved a preferential issue of 1,07,20,000 equity shares at Rs 140 each, aggregating to Rs 150 crore, subject to necessary approvals.
The issue price represents a 26% premium over the average of the weekly high and low of the volume weighted average share price of Balaji Telefilms during the past 26-week period. The proposed issue will result in a dilution of 14.1% of the equity share capital of the Company and the post-issue promoter and promoter group holding in the Company will be 40.6%.
The proceeds of the issue will be utilised to catapult the launch and growth of ALT Digital Media Entertainment – Balaji Telefilm’s foray into the B2C digital content business segment – the next growth driver for the Company’s operating strategies.
ALT Digital Media will operate as subscription video on demand (SVOD) based over the top (OTT) platform targeted towards Urban Indians and Indian Diaspora. The platform aims to create highly differentiated, original digital content for the entire connected ecosystem spanning mobile devices, web, smart TVs and game stations.
The preferential issue of equity shares is in accordance with Chapter VII of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009, as amended, and is subject to approval from shareholders at the ensuing Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on March 5, 2016. Accordingly, the equity shares to be allotted pursuant to the issue shall be locked-in for a period of one year.
The transaction was facilitated by Axis Capital Limited, being the sole investment banker and advisor for the fund raise.
Earlier, Balaji Telefilms appointed Nachiket Pantvaidya as CEO and MTV’s Ekalavya Bhattacharya as Chief Strategy Officer for ALT Digital Media.
