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Grant Investrade Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd, will invest Rs 300 crore in the cable distribution business managed by INCableNet and INDigital in India.
Hinduja Ventures Ltd is the majority shareholder of IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd, the cable distribution company of the Hinduja Group.
The capital infusion is set to take advantage of the opportunities thrown up by digital conversion from analogue. Phase I and Phase II of the digital addressable system have already been completed, presenting several consolidation opportunities, said an official. Ashok Mansukhani, Whole Time Director at Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL) told Business Line , “Though Phase II got over just last night, the process of consolidation is on. Set top boxes have been installed, but the packaging and the customer preferences are now under consolidation.”
The capital is to be used to expand the digital base of IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) and to improve customer services. “In Phase III and IV where we will be catering to urban India and rural India, there is the potential to install another 110 million boxes. We are now in a rush to digitise another 110 million homes,” he said.
With an estimated 8.5 million subscribers across 36 major cities, the company offers over 350 channels in the digital mode. It has a backbone of over 10,000 km of hybrid fibre optic network through which it also offers broadband services.
Grant Investrade Ltd is a 100 per cent subsidiary in Hinduja Ventures Ltd (HVL) and has “decided to invest Rs 300 crore, since the promoter group wishes to support IMCL in its efforts to continue with the digitisation with Phases II, III and IV. Though IMCL has done a lot in the first two phases, the promoter group has decided to help it capture more territory in the next phases,” said the official.
Mansukhani added that the four national multi-system operators (MSOs) and four DTH players have to manage the segment that comprises metropolitan India.
>amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in
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