Deepu
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Rupert Murdoch’s Star India has exited the home shopping business by selling its entire 50 per cent stake in Star CJ to American private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. The remaining 50 per cent stake is with South Korean home shopping major CJ O Shopping Co Ltd. The financial details of the deal could not be ascertained. Star and CJ O are believed to have invested close to $55 million in the JV. Star CJ came into existence in September 2009 as a six-hour slot on free-to-air channel Star Utsav. It later converted into a 24-hour shopping channel in 2010. The stake sale to Providence is in line with Star’s strategy to exit non-core initiatives and focus on building its sports and entertainment business. Star had earlier exited from Hathway Cable & Datacom and news broadcast JV Media Content and Communication Services (MCCS). Star CJ can retain the Star brand for up to one year following which the channel will be rebranded. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) recently approved Providence’s P5 Asia Holding Investments’ (Mauritius) proposal to buy out Star’s stake in the company. The proposal had been stuck with the government for more than a year, having been deferred many times. It was cleared only in the last stages of the erstwhile UPA government. Star CJ was an equal joint venture between Star Asia and South Korean home shopping major CJ O Shopping. The JV owns and operates a home shopping channel Star CJ which competes with Network18-owned HomeShop18. Star India officials were not available for comment till the time of filing this report. However, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta had in an earlier interaction with TelevisionPost.com stated that Star wanted to focus on its core business by exiting Star CJ. “Star CJ is not a core business for us since it’s more about retailing. We are essentially a storytelling company and want to stick to that. CJ is best suited to run that business as that is their core strength. Some regulatory approvals are pending,” Gupta had stated. The entry of Providence will help CJ O to grow its business in India. Providence has prior experience in the home shopping business, having acquired German home shopping network HSE 24 in 2012. CJ O Shopping plans to list on the Indian stock market. Star CJ’s competitor HomeShop18 is tapping the US market having applied for IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. The home shopping business is estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) and has been growing at more than 40 per cent due to growth in cable and DTH. Providence manages funds with over $40 billion in commitments and has invested in more than 130 companies globally to date. In India, it has invested in Idea Cellular, Hathway Cable and UFO Moviez.
Read more at: Star offloads 50% stake in Star CJ to Providence, exits home shopping biz | TelevisionPost.com | TelevisionPost.com
Read more at: Star offloads 50% stake in Star CJ to Providence, exits home shopping biz | TelevisionPost.com | TelevisionPost.com
