Diversified group Videocon Industries on Wednesday said it may sell up to 26 per cent stake in the company to foreign players.
Many foreign companies are eyeing a stake in us….We may dilute a stake of up to 26 per cent,” Videocon Industries Chief Venugopal Dhoot told reporters here.
Asked by when a stake dilution can take place, he said, “As soon as we get a good valuation we will do that.”
He said the company's valuation, which is currently at Rs 12,000 crore, may go up further considering the rapid expansion it has undertaken.
Group company Videocon Mobiles recently started its services in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Mumbai circles.
On Monday, Videocon Industries signed a five-year agreement with Philips Electronics NV to make and sell the century-old Philips brand televisions in India.
Videocon is betting on this deal to check its losing grip in the Indian television market, particularly after a similar deal with Japan’s Toshiba ended and Videocon Bazooka lost its uniqueness as a premium offering in the commoditised durables market. Philips gives it a global television brand with high recall in India to take on the likes of Sony, Panasonic, LG and Samsung in the Indian television market. Besides Toshiba, Videocon also had a make-and-sell partnership with Japan’s Akai.
The Group went in for an image makeover, reinventing itself with a new logo in 2008. Last year, it hopped on to the mobile handset bandwagon and also launched its direct-to-home service.
The Videocon Group reported revenues of $4 billion in fiscal year ending March 31, 2009. It hopes to touch the $10-billion mark by 2013, out of which close to $4 billion would come from its mobile service operations.
Source: Economic Times