Mumbai : News Corp announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire the VCCircle Network, which includes VCCircle.com, Techcircle.in, VCCEdge, VCCircle Training, in addition to a premium-content driven conference business.
Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in March, were not disclosed.
“This significant investment is a sign of our faith in India’s future and our enthusiasm for working with and building up emerging talents in the country,” said News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson. “India is an increasingly meaningful part of our portfolio, which is itself increasingly digital and global.”
“For the past decade, we have built a strong franchise with proprietary data, information, content, and networking capabilities around India’s digital business world,” said P.V. Sahad, Founder and CEO of VCCircle Network. “Being a part of News Corp will now allow us to accelerate our already aggressive growth plans.”
VCCircle Network is owned by Mosaic Media Ventures Pvt Ltd and has about 100 employees across India, with its headquarters in Noida. Sahad, and the management group, will become part of News Corp’s India team. Sahad will report to News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy, Raju Narisetti.
The VCCircle acquisition builds on News Corp’s recent digital investments in India. In November, News Corp acquired a 25% stake in PropTiger.com, India’s leading online residential real estate platform. In December, News Corp acquired BigDecisions.com, which aims to help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data.
News Corp also has a presence across India through its Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal and HarperCollins Publishers businesses.
